Kinsale Community School: Leading the science charge

CABINETS jammed with trophies and plaques greet visitors to the school, displaying the talents of the pupils. Just like in any other school across the country, the shelves feature bronze statues of golfers, ribboned medals for basketball, and honours for GAA. There are also Young Enterprise awards and even a framed picture of a student receiving his Meitheal prize from then-President Mary McAleese.

But this is no ordinary school.

The first clue to its lofty reputation in a field other than sport, entrepreneurship and community work is a framed poster hanging next to the school office door. It is a poster showing the structure of a molecule called deoxyribonucleic acid, or DNA.