A rural school in Co Offaly has produced outstanding Leaving Certificate results, not least in the form of one student who received eight A1s. This places him among the top 12 performers in the country.

Matthew Kavanagh (18) from Co Kilkenny achieved an A1 in chemistry, accounting, economics, biology, German, maths, Irish and English. Three years ago, he was one of 12 students in Ireland to achieve 12 A1s in his Junior Cert.

Matthew, the son of JJ Kavanagh, who runs well-known bus company JJ Kavanagh & Sons, is now going to UCC to study medicine. However, his talents aren’t limited to the world of academia. Matthew also captained the school’s hurling team to the north Leinster hurling final.

Given that he was also part of the school’s 2013 All-Ireland winning German debating team, one wonders how he had time to study at all.

Many readers will be familiar with Matthew’s school, Cistercian College, Roscrea, as it has been educating farmers’ sons from Tipperary, Offaly, Laois, Kilkenny and much further afield for years. The school is run under the trusteeship of the Cistercian monks and has been operating for more than 100 years as a seven-day secondary boarding school. It is located just outside Roscrea town, across the Tipperary border in Co Offaly.

Cistercian College Roscrea has a solid academic reputation – and not just thanks to individuals like Matthew. Ten per cent of the school’s Leaving Cert this year received over 600 points, while 36% of the year received over 500 points. Futhermore, another Leaving Cert student, Richard Tynan, has been invited to study computer science at Cambridge.

Richard was part of the team to represent Ireland and take home bronze in July at the 2014 International Olympiad in Informatics (IOI) in Taiwan. Richard was also awarded first prize in the technology category at this year’s BT Young Scientist competition.

The school is also well-known for its extra curricular activities – and not just for debating, musicals or even hurling.

While the school has a long and successful tradition in hurling, it is more noted recently for its achievements on the rugby field as the Cistercian College team reached the final of Leinster Schools Senior Cup in 2011.