As the longest established second level school in the town of New Ross, we are confident as we move into the future that we are carrying on in the very best traditions of the early founders of the school while at the same time adapting to the considerable demands of an ever changing and complex educational environment.
The Christian Brothers first came to New Ross just after the famine in 1849 and dedicated their school to St. Joseph. The school was the first Christian Brothers school in Co. Wexford and one of the first in the country as a whole.
The Christian Brothers gradually consolidated their position in the town with the help of the hard-pressed local population. By 1926 however things were looking up when staff and pupils proudly moved into new buildings which eventually became the CBS Primary School.
While the school made steady progress in the 40's and 50's the next significant development occurred in the 1960's with a large increase in pupil numbers and a big spread in the geographical areas from which the pupils were drawn. This was partly due to the development of free school transport but also to the fact that the school was blessed with gifted and dedicated teachers, both lay and clerical. One of the latter, Brother Long, pioneered the construction of the 'original part' of the present Secondary School building in 1971 and also achieved notable success in Gaelic Games. Later in the same decade, the school came to national prominence due to its success in the Slógadh competitions.
It was however in the late 80's and early 90's that the school underwent its most profound changes to date, when a Board of Management took over the running of the school. This period saw staff and student numbers double, an expanded range of subjects on offer to pupils, the introduction of co-education and the construction of an extension to the school building.
In 2010, the construction of two new classrooms and a general purpose room began and was officially opened in 2011 by Minister Brendan Howlin. Numbers continued to grow steadily over this time and this saw the granting of another new building which included 4 general classrooms, an Art room, a Music room and a Science lab. This building was officially opened in 2019 by Minister for Education Joe Mc Hugh. September 2021 saw the construction of a new lunchroom for students.
The Department of Education recently approved the construction of four further general classrooms, a new DCG room and a Home Economics room, which will see the introduction of this subject for the first time in our school. It is hoped that construction of this building will begin shortly.