Cross and Passion College
Erasmus+ Programme
Growing Together in Care & Respect — connecting our school community with Europe.
Our Erasmus+ Accreditation
Partner Schools
Years of Exchange
Students Travelled
Staff Mobilities
Accreditation Until
Student Mobilities Across Europe
Lycée Charles De Gaulle
Chaumont, France
Our exchange with Lycée Charles De Gaulle in Chaumont invites students to strengthen their French language skills through literature, culture and friendship. Through shared stories, creative workshops, school life and cultural visits, students explore the links between Irish and French identity while building confidence and meaningful European connections.
Institut de la Providence de Champion
Namur, Belgium
Our Belgian partnership with Institut de la Providence de Champion has included cultural exchange, school visits, host family experiences and European learning. Students explored Belgian culture, school life, language, friendship and European citizenship through shared learning with their partners.
St. Ursula-Schule
Geisenheim, Germany
Our partnership with St. Ursula-Schule in Geisenheim focuses on healthy lifestyles, wellbeing and intercultural friendship. Students experience German school life, develop language confidence and learn about daily life, active living and cultural traditions in Germany.
Lycée Michel Rodange
Luxembourg City, Luxembourg
Our Luxembourg projects explore how a small country can have a powerful European voice. Students have examined history, language, sustainability, European identity and civic life while building friendships with their Luxembourgish partners.
I Liceum Ogólnokształcące
Toruń, Poland
Our Polish Erasmus+ mobility provided students with the opportunity to learn alongside their Polish exchange partners through collaborative Model United Nations activities, developing their public speaking, teamwork and intercultural understanding while exploring the historic city of Toruń.
Erasmus+ in Pictures
🇫🇷 France
Stories That Unite: A Franco-Irish Literary Exchange
Photos from French school visits, cultural learning, creative workshops and shared experiences on both sides of the exchange.
🇧🇪 Belgium
Where Science Meets Art
Photos from our Belgian exchange, combining school life, student voice, creative learning, cultural discovery and European citizenship.
🇩🇪 Germany
Healthy Lifestyles Across Borders
Photos from our German exchange exploring healthy lifestyles through classroom learning, sport, outdoor activities, language learning and cultural discovery.
🇱🇺 Luxembourg
Small but Mighty
Photos from our Luxembourg partnership exploring European identity, sustainability, student voice and cultural exchange.
iv>
🇵🇱 Poland
World in Transition
Photos from our Polish mobility, where students developed confidence in public speaking and explored the historic city of Toruń with their Polish partners.
Student Voices
I went on a language exchange to Geisenheim for two weeks and learned so many new things. The host school was quite different to school in Ireland: it started at 7:45 am, there was no uniform, students went outside during breaks and lunch, and school life felt very independent. I learned a lot about German traditions, especially because I was there during the Fasching Parade, which was completely new to me and authentically German. My host family were lovely and made the trip much easier. I would say: just go for it! I have no regrets about going without my peers, immersing myself in everyday life and talking to as many people as possible — the relationships you build really help you.
Namur was absolutely beautiful. The exchange was so well organised and the Belgian students were incredibly welcoming. We visited amazing places including the Namur Citadel and had the most wonderful evenings with our host families. The connections I made there are friendships for life.
Going to Geisenheim in Germany was an amazing experience. The people were so welcoming and kind. I loved going to school there — the structure was completely different to CPC but I really enjoyed it. The highlight was definitely visiting the Rhine Valley and the vineyards. Erasmus opened my eyes to how big and diverse Europe really is.
I applied for Erasmus to improve my language skills and learn about a different culture. One of the most valuable parts of the exchange was hearing French being spoken every day and seeing what a French school day was really like. Staying in the boarding school for part of the visit was a unique experience and opened my eyes to a very different side of French school culture. I enjoyed seeing the towns of Chaumont, Dijon and Paris, and I would definitely recommend the exchange. It is an amazing opportunity to improve your language skills, meet new people and experience another culture in a real and memorable way.
Staff Professional Learning Across Europe
Erasmus+ provides staff with opportunities to learn alongside educators from across Europe through job shadowing and professional development courses. These experiences encourage the exchange of ideas and innovative practices, in addition to the development of lasting professional networks across different cultures and education systems. The knowledge, skills and perspectives gained through each experience continue to enrich the teaching and learning in our school. Over the course of our Erasmus+ journey, staff have participated in a diverse range of professional development opportunities across Europe.
🇫🇮 Finland
Job ShadowingPositive psychology, wellbeing, student autonomy and trust in learning.
🇭🇷 Croatia
Staff CourseMuseum Based Learning, cultural heritage, experiential learning and interdisciplinary teaching.
🇩🇰 Denmark
Staff CourseSchool leadership, strategic planning and leading positive whole-school improvement.
🇬🇷 Greece
Staff CourseAI, inclusive education and new approaches to teaching and learning.
🇮🇹 Italy
Job ShadowingObservation of mathematics teaching in a specialist science school, providing insights into high-achieving STEM education and innovative teaching approaches.
🇪🇸 Spain
Staff CourseInnovation, digital learning and inclusive methodologies.
🇨🇿 Czechia
Staff CourseEffective classroom methodologies and innovative teaching strategies.
🇭🇺 Hungary
Staff CourseHappy Schools, student wellbeing and creating positive learning environments.
Staff Voices
Fiona Murphy
German Teacher & Erasmus Team Member
“I had the privilege of organising Erasmus+ exchanges with our partner schools in Germany, Poland and Belgium. Working together with these schools, our students took part in a range of collaborative projects, including Model United Nations activities that we planned and delivered as part of the exchange programme. Students improved their language skills naturally as they lived with host families while experiencing everyday life in another country. It was inspiring to see students discover that school routines can be surprisingly different, while growing in confidence, independence and cultural awareness throughout each mobility. As an accompanying teacher, I also had opportunities to visit classrooms and experience what teaching and learning is like in another country, offering valuable insights into different approaches to education. My advice is simple: Be open. Say yes to invitations. Try unfamiliar food. Ask questions. Accept that you might feel awkward sometimes. The more open you are, the more the world opens back up to you.”
Eleanor Higgins
Erasmus Team Member
“Participating in the Erasmus+ programme has been a defining highlight for our school community. Seeing our students engage with peers across Europe has been inspiring, and the visible growth in their confidence and enthusiasm has been remarkable. The students haven’t just learned about other cultures; they have lived them, forming international friendships that broaden their horizons far beyond the classroom. Through specialized Erasmus courses, I gained invaluable insights into using AI to promote critical thinking and implementing wellbeing strategies. These tools have directly enhanced my teaching practice, allowing me to support my students’ academic and emotional needs more effectively. It is truly an amazing opportunity that elevates our entire school. We are very lucky in CPC to have such a committed staff and such an enthusiastic student body.”
Glenda Groome
TY Coordinator & Erasmus Team Member
“On arrival in Namur, students were understandably uncertain at first. That settled quickly once they began attending classes at our partner school and started to find their footing alongside local students. It was interesting to observe how they adapted to different teaching approaches and, gradually, how initial hesitation gave way to engagement. What proved most significant was the quality of the relationships that developed over the course of the visit. Through shared classes and activities, students built genuine connections with their counterparts from the partner school. From a teacher’s perspective, this kind of exchange offers something difficult to replicate in a school setting. The Namur experience gave students the opportunity to build confidence, engage with a different culture in a meaningful way and develop a broader outlook. It served as a useful reminder of the value of programmes like Erasmus—not only for the educational content, but for the personal development and cross-cultural understanding they encourage.”
Mary Quinto
Erasmus Coordinator
“One of the most rewarding experiences of my Erasmus+ journey was a job-shadowing placement in Finland, where I explored positive psychology in education. I was welcomed into classrooms, met with school leaders and student focus groups, and was also invited into a teacher’s home, giving me genuine insight into how wellbeing, trust and positive relationships underpin learning. I was particularly inspired by the trust and autonomy afforded to students, and how this fosters responsibility, independence and intrinsic motivation – an approach that continues to shape my own thinking as an educator. My advice is to embrace every opportunity Erasmus+ offers. It is so much more than travel; it is about learning from others, building meaningful connections, experiencing different cultures and returning home with renewed enthusiasm and a broader perspective on education.”
Lesley Kelly
Art Teacher
“I completed a five-day Museum Based Learning course in Split, Croatia, alongside a colleague. We experienced Croatian cultural, historical and natural heritage through the excellent guidance of museum curators and educators, a variety of learning experiences and meeting teachers from Poland, Estonia, Finland, Barcelona and Germany. The course explored museum pedagogy and experiential learning, active learning through curiosity and asking questions, and the use of new technologies to preserve cultural and natural heritage through AI, treasure hunts and group activities. We also learned about ecotourism and sustainable mobility, and how to experience new cultures in a sustainable way. Croatia is culturally rich and this was an excellent experience that has enhanced my teaching practice. I would encourage any teacher considering an Erasmus+ course to immerse themselves in the cultural traditions of the country, be willing to learn, and step outside of their comfort zone—you will return with fresh ideas, new perspectives and experiences that enrich both your teaching and your students’ learning.”
Anne O’Connell
Year Head & English Teacher
“My Erasmus course gave me a fascinating insight into the neuroscience of learning and how attention, emotion and memory influence students’ ability to learn. It challenged me to think more intentionally about lesson design, helping me understand the importance of creating meaningful learning experiences, using retrieval practice, and building in brain breaks to support attention and reduce cognitive overload. One of the most valuable aspects of the course was collaborating with teachers from Germany and French Guiana, sharing ideas and learning from different educational perspectives. I have returned to my classroom with practical strategies that are already helping me create more engaging, focused and effective learning experiences for my students.”
Our Erasmus+ Impact
Erasmus+ has not simply changed where we learn — it has changed how we learn, how we teach and how we connect with Europe.
Through student exchanges, job shadowing, professional learning, language immersion and international partnerships, Erasmus+ has become an integral part of school life. Each mobility broadens horizons, builds confidence, strengthens relationships and brings fresh ideas back into our classrooms.
The impact of Erasmus+ extends far beyond individual participants, enriching teaching and learning across the wider school community and supporting our commitment to Growing Together in Care and Respect.
We are sincerely grateful to the Erasmus Programme and Léargas for these opportunities