Mount Saint Michael first introduced Transition Year in 1976, where students were given an opportunity of an extra year at the beginning of the Senior Cycle.

Transition Year allows for a broad, general education. Students are given the opportunity to pursue many activities which, due to time limitations, are not catered for in fourth year. This year aims to promote the personal, social, cultural, spiritual and vocational development of students and to prepare them for their role as autonomous, participative and responsible members of society.

The programme facilitates personal growth and maturation through the development of self-esteem; the fostering of efficient interpersonal relationships; the acquiring of assertiveness and communication skills; and the development of personal responsibility.

Students experience living in a flat and the world of work, through a comprehensive Work Experience Programme. This practical experience of employment is helpful in the difficult area of career choices and gives valuable insight into the demands of the working world.

More emphasis is placed on the acquisition of general, technical, academic and creative skills and the development of leisure management skills. Involvement with disadvantaged groups, locally and in the wider community, gives the students an opportunity to serve their local community, while working with the aged, the lonely and the physically and mentally handicapped