Lana Dowling was ‘lost’ for a long time in secondary school, but PLC courses proved a huge help in building her futureLana Dowling: 'I used to beg my Mam to not make me go to school. My attendance was so bad. In first year I missed about 30 days, and it just went up and up.' Tue Aug 25 2026 - 05:01 • 4 MIN READLana Dowling had a tough time at school. “I was always a bit of a quieter child, I’d say. I was quite insecure – I struggled a lot with anxiety when I was younger, so it was always kind of difficult for me to make friends.”The now 21-year-old says she began to experience bullying when she was in sixth class at primary school. When she moved to secondary school, Dowling started seeing the guidance counsellor on a regular basis. At the same time, she was diagnosed with ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder).“I used to beg my Mam to not make me go to school. My attendance was so bad. In first year I missed about 30 days, and it just went up and up. Fast forward to fourth year, and I think I had missed 124 days of school.”Dowling was in fourth year when Covid hit, and she says she thrived. “I was able to do everything online,” she explains. “You could speak to teachers directly, because I would never speak up in school. Doing a presentation would be my absolute worst nightmare… if I had to do a presentation, I just wouldn’t go to school that day. Covid was good in the sense of school-wise. But bad in the sense of anxiety-wise.”When schools reopened, Dowling found her anxiety had significantly increased and she found it very difficult to be around other people. “I’d sit in the bathroom to eat my lunch. I wouldn’t talk to people. And then I started to fall out with friends because they didn’t understand. They just thought I was being anti-social… and the bullying just got worse and worse from then on.”[ Post-Leaving Certificate courses play growing role as routes to work and higher educationOpens in new window ]It was at this point that Dowling left school. “I dropped out in fourth year and I never went back.”She was “lost” for a long time, not knowing what she should do next. “Everybody tells you if you don’t do the Leaving Cert, you can’t get anywhere in life. You’re not going to be anything.“I got very depressed then, because I didn’t know what I was doing with my life and I felt like a failure. I felt like everyone was going to be disappointed in me.”She decided to give the Leaving Cert a try and enrolled in an Educate Together school for sixth year. With support and understanding from her teachers, Dowling settled into school, though with continued significant periods of absence, and visited the guidance counsellor to consider what she might do next. “That’s when the idea of a PLC (Post Leaving Certificate course) was brought up.‘Through doing the PLCs, I don’t struggle with anxiety as much as I used to any more. I’m happy to get up in front of the class and do a presentation’“I was obviously very anxious that, having missed so much school, I wasn’t going to get the points I needed for my course. That’s when she let me know if I didn’t get the points I could always do a PLC.”Dowling didn’t get the points she was hoping for in the Leaving Cert and was “devastated”.But she decided to do a PLC in criminology with social sciences at Dublin College Sallynoggin. “I really, really enjoyed it. I thought it was an amazing PLC. I was selected for Erasmus as well, so I was able to go to Portugal for two weeks and study abroad. And I was able to work in underprivileged areas with underprivileged kids.“All the teachers in the PLC were absolutely phenomenal. And the good thing I found about the PLC was that it was like being in the classroom. They knew your names. They know who you are. They see when you’re not there.“They acknowledge you and they take the time to understand you. And they’ll reach out to you if they feel you need help, or they’ll let you know that they are there.”Lana Dowling: 'I found I had a really huge passion for event management and marketing. I did a PLC in event management, digital marketing, and public relations… and it really showed me what I wanted to do.' The “constant support system” is something Dowling found especially beneficial. A support system she feels wouldn’t be possible or available had she gone directly to university. “Even the canteen lady knew my name at the PLC. Everybody is so close-knit. I was actually able to meet like-minded people.”Ultimately, Dowling decided criminology wasn’t for her. “I was so grateful for the PLC, to give me that year to try it. And not having to commit [so much] money to something I’m not sure if I’d even like. The PLC is so accessible. Most of them are €50 for the year. It really just opens the door for so many people."Dowling used the points from the PLC and applied again through the CAO. She was offered a place studying business in TU Dublin, but a month into her degree she realised it wasn’t for her. She decided to step away from education for a year “to really figure out what I wanted to do”.During this time, she worked with a relative in events management and decided to do a second PLC in that field, this time in Dublin College Stillorgan. “I found I had a really huge passion for event management and marketing. I did a PLC in event management, digital marketing, and public relations… and it really showed me what I wanted to do. It was the most amazing year I’ve ever had.”[ Is a post-Leaving Cert course for me?Opens in new window ]But Dowling isn’t finished with studying. Using the points she achieved in completing her PLC, she applied through the CAO again and was recently offered her first choice during round zero. “I’m going to be starting in IADT on September 7th to do a three-year level 8 bachelor’s degree in digital marketing.“Through doing the PLCs, I don’t struggle with anxiety as much as I used to any more. I’m happy to get up in front of the class and do a presentation. They’ve really helped me. Those two years I did that PLC really, really grew my confidence so much.”IN THIS SECTION