'We're blown away by the Cork Life Centre': Bullied student is transformed by new educational environment

In her kitchen on Monday morning as she received her results with her mother Paula and father Dave, it is clear to see the pride and joy in their faces

Alannah Hynes pictured with her mum and dad Paula and Dave on the morning she received her Leaving Cert results.

A student who suffered bullying and depression in the formal school system now hopes to study Criminology at UCC after her world was transformed by the Cork Life Centre.

“I’ve always just been interested in the area, and in the psyche,” Alannah told the Irish Examiner.

 “I’d love to go into behavioural analysis, I spend lots of time just analysing old cases.”

Pictured here in her kitchen on Monday morning as she received her results with her mother Paula and father Dave, it's clear to see the pride and joy in their faces. 

School wasn't always the easiest place for their family. 

“We always just felt like with Alannah, she’s an amazing girl, so intelligent,” Paula said. 

“It broke our heart when she was struggling in school with bullying. It started early on, we weren’t aware of it at the time, but it started in first year.

"It just escalated and led to depression and anxiety around going to school.” 

By way of dealing with this, Alannah's hours at school were reduced, which meant she dropped down to five subjects. 

"Which of course was heartbreaking for her, and for us.

"In terms of the school, to be honest, it’s probably not through any fault of theirs. Schools possibly just don’t have the resources to deal with these kinds of things in a therapeutic nature, they have to go by the book.

“But at the very start of fifth year, things were just becoming that bit more unmanageable. We did everything in our power, we always worked with the school and they suggested home tuition.”

Paula knew about Cork Life Centre, a school in Sunday's Well for students who find themselves outside of formal education, and she contacted Don O'Leary, its director. 

"He said just 'leave it with me and I will do everything I can to help'. Within hours, he called me back and said 'Will you bring Alannah up to meet us in the school next week?'

"It just completely changed her life, and to be honest, it changed our life as well as a family. Just that relief of knowing she was looked after. That you could drop her to school and know she was safe and surrounded by people who treated her like their own daughter.

"She went from doing five subjects in a mainstream school, to a full eight subjects in her Leaving Cert. Just to think that was all done in a year and a half. We are blown away by her, and we are blown away by the Cork Life Centre. It's just phenomenal." 

For Alannah, she was nervous starting at the school but quickly got used to the change of pace. 

“I can just remember walking up on the first day, I say I had about five panic attacks. But then I went in and I saw someone I used to be friends with and instantly it was just such a massive relief. Then throughout the next few months, I got to really know everyone.”

She liked how in Cork Life Centre she saw her teachers as friends, and that she was treated as an adult, and an equal. 

"You could actually sit down and talk to them, and mess with them. You could be yourself. During a class, if someone was feeling a bit down and you wanted to lift up spirits, the teachers were always ok with doing that. Obviously, we worked as well, and we worked hard, but we were never told to be quiet."