Borrisokane rural school as it was then called was opened in October 1942 on the grounds of the old public workhouse. There was no official opening possibly because of war time restrictions. The new school had 3 full time teachers – JJ. Fitzgibbon, D.J Dunne, and Ms. Browne. Jim Cody travelled once a week from Nenagh to teach woodwork. The CEO Mr. P.J. Dempsey acted as Principal. In this capacity he visited the school once a week. The subjects taught were Irish, English, Maths, Woodwork, Mechanical Drawing, Rural Science and Domestic economy. For the next 20 years these remained the core subjects which would best enable students to gain employment in their local area and stem the flow of young people from Ireland. Occasional classes given were in farm Bookkeeping, Geography, Civics and Religious introduction.
During the latter decades of the nineteenth century, legislation designed to force reluctant parents to send their children to school became a universal feature of the expansion of schooling in western countries. Legal sanctions to compel parents into sending their children more regularly to school were widely applied in Ireland from the 1920s to the 1950s, this worked well until the early 1960s when parents began to stop sending their children to school as often.
1943 -> in 1943 the school began to offer night classes to adults who wanted to further their education.
1951-59′ -> In 1951 the school’s first open day was held. This was so successful that at the July meeting of the VEC other schools were urged to do the same. In 1959 the school won its first hurling county title, captained by Sean Mc Loughlin.
1966-69′ -> In 1966 Donagh O’Malley’s free education scheme made a huge impact on Irish education by making secondary education free for all Irish students. Student enrolment increased dramatically not only in first-level and second-level schools but also in third-level schools. With an increased demand for higher education in Ireland the school grew in many ways and introduced new subjects such as French, History Geography and Physical Education. The students in the school sat their Inter Cert for the first time in 1969. Borrisokane also provided two members of the great Tipperary team of the 60`s, John Mackey McKenna and Tom McLoughney.
1971-73′ -> In 1971 it was decided to introduce the Leaving cert course for students. At first this was not approved by the Department of Education who felt that Borrisokane would never have the numbers to make it viable. However following a campaign by the Parents, Staff and The Local Development association, the Leaving Cert was officially approved in 1973.
1980-89′ -> in 1980 it was decided that another building was needed as the school wasn’t suitable for the growing number of students. The new building was officially opened in May 1982 by the then Minister of Education Fianna Fail TD, Mr. Martin O’ Donoghue. In 81-82 Borrisokane won every competition in Tipperary for which it was entered in both hurling and football. In 1983 the school got their first Career Guidance Teacher Ms. Marion Shiels. In 1984, the first trip to Paris was held for the Inter-cert students. The Borrisokane hurling team won two all-Ireland titles in 1983, captained by Martin Hogan and again in 1989 by Kevin Slevin who also captained the Tipp minor team. One of the biggest developments the school saw during the 80’s was the building of a Sports and Leisure Center. This work was undertaken by the Parents Association of that time. In 1986 German and Computers were added to the curriculum. In 1989 Transition Year became available in the school for the first time.
1990-99′ -> Two consecutive years 1990 and 1991 Borrisokane brought back the Glasheen Cup from the Holycross School’s drama festival. In October 1992 the school celebrated its 50th Anniversary with a function in the Sports Hall. In 1994 the Senior Camogie team reached the All Ireland Final. In the same year the Senior Hurling team won the Munster Final. In 1995 both the Junior and Senior Camogie teams won the North Tipperary Vocational Schools Competition. Also in 1995 the Senior Girls won the North Tipperary Senior Basketball completion. In 1996 the Senior Soccer team won the Munster Shield. In the late 1990’s the school had great success in Athletics at County, Munster and National Level.
2000-11′ -> In 2000 the schools Millennium Project was to develop Canteen Facilities for students and staff. With the help of the local community through the Parents Association a dining hall was constructed and a state of the art Canteen Kitchen was installed. Students could now enjoy hot meals at lunchtime which was a welcome move for the many students who travelled long distances to school. In 2003 the Bakery Building of the Workhouse was renovated and the Oratory and Discussion Room were officially opened. Through the early years of the new millennium Adult Day Course took place at the College in the Computer Studies area. In 2002 the Junior Hurling team won the All Ireland Championship. This team went on to win the All Ireland in 2005. Also in 2005 the school won the U17 Fitzgerald Shield and the Croke Cup. From 2001 the school was involved in the design and development of new buildings. The results of efforts to update the school took quite a while and in 20011 the sod was turned for the new School Building. In 2009 Borrisokane Community College became a Heart Safe School following the training of all transition Year Students in CPR Life Saving Skills.
2012-2017 -> The construction of the new school continued until the Official Opening in October 2013. The new school also incorporated an Autism Centre. To provide top class facilities for the children with Autism the Parents Association raised €120,000 and provided a top class Playground and other specialist equipment for the Autism Centre. Over the course of the past ten years the Christmas Concert has become a key event in the schools calendar. The standard of performance has moved to an exceptionally high level over the years. In 2015 the school earned its first Green Flag and the second flag was awarded to the school in 2017. The school earned a flag for promoting Positive Mental Health in 2014 and Borrisokane Community College became a Health Promoting School in 2016. In 2015 a Heritage Committee was setup to develop projects that would link the current school to the original site of Borrisokane Union Workhouse. Camogie was to the forefront in 2017 when the Junior Senior and 7 a side teams had success at Munster and All Ireland levels.
