"Like sitting the Leaving Cert in a morgue" is how one gloomy teacher described examinations at Greendale Community School in Kilbarrack, where students sat art, science and technical drawing exams for the last time yesterday.
From 800 students in 1985 to only 50 today, the struggling north Dublin school will close its doors for the last time after this year's Leaving and Junior Cert students complete their exams next week.
A fifth of the Junior Cert students have not applied to other schools, choosing to drop out rather than move on.
"I left the school last year because I couldn't sit the Leaving here," former student Dean Dennis said.
"Some people in my class dropped out altogether. They would have stayed on to Leaving Cert in Greendale if they had the chance."
Greendale is the first school in the community and comprehensive sector to close. Made famous by its former English and geography teacher, novelist Roddy Doyle, the school has been losing students for 20 years. Students and staff expressed anger and hurt at the closure.
"We only got word of our new positions last week," said an angry Niamh O'Dwyer, who has taught maths at the school for two decades.
"We were offered positions in ridiculous places: Tallaght, Clane, Coolmine. All miles from here; lots of good teachers are being forced to resign."
Student Declan Webster, who finished his last exam yesterday, was in mixed mood about the end of his school career.
"My Ma, my uncles, my brothers and sisters all went to Greendale . . . you could buzz off the teachers and we all got our work done because we liked them. I'm really sorry it's closing," said Declan.
Catherine Buckley, a home economics teachers at Greendale for 25 years said:
"I was offered a job teaching religion in Tallaght and the Department of Education gave me four days to make up my mind. I've decided to give up teaching altogether," she said.
Vice-principal Tom Potts says staff spent the last two weeks clearing out classrooms, with no idea of what to do with the contents.
"We've been given no direction from the department about what to do with the building. Do we just walk out and close the door behind us? What do we do with all the equipment, the students' records . . . the books? Do I put the lab skeleton in the back of my car?"
