Day one in the Big Brother house. The housemates enter the building. Having unpacked and done some grocery shopping, they hit a snag. How, exactly, does the cooker work? Nobody seems to know, and it's too late to try to figure it out. The chipper across the street saves the day. The housemates stay up late, chatting, watching television and playing video games. Gráinne Faller

Day two in the Big Brother house. After a long day's work, the housemates return to the house and give the cooker another go. Success. They manage to turn it on, and the appetising aroma of sausages soon fills the kitchen. Glowing with success, the housemates stay up late, chatting, watching television and playing video games.

And so it goes on for a week, until the housemates clean the house, leaving it is as they found it, so that it is ready for another group the following week.

OK, so we're not really talking Big Brother here. There are no cameras; nor are there any obnoxious wannabe actresses, television presenters or rappers involved. But a transition-year programme in which students fend for themselves for a week or two? The idea seems almost as crazy.

"We just perceived a need for these kind of life skills. There was a gap in the lads' education; we found that many of them were thrown in at the deep end when they went to college," says Tim O'Callaghan. He is deputy principal of Charleville CBS, in Co Cork, where transition-year students get the opportunity to experience independent living as part of their education.

The school rents a house, and transition-year students live in it for a week at a time, in groups of three. The house is near the school, so the students can make their way to and from classes each day.

Each student gets his own room; he also contributes €10 to a kitty. Of the €30 that ends up in the kitty, €2 goes into the electricity meter at the start of the week; the students use the rest to manage their budget, doing a grocery shop and cooking for themselves. They have to be indoors by 9pm each day. Parents and teachers pop in from time to time to make sure that things aren't falling apart, but, beyond that, they are on their own.

"It was a brilliant experience," says Philip O'Loughlin, a veteran of the programme and now a fifth year in the school. "It was a bit of a shock at first, I suppose, especially the cooking. You get so used to your mother cooking for you." With a little help from the chipper and the microwave, though, they were fine. They managed to avoid laundry, however. Philip says: "I just brought in a different set of clothes for each day and took the washing home at the end of the week."

It sounds like an ideal learning-through-experience project, but teenagers living in a house on their own is a daunting prospect. How did the parents take the idea when it was first mentioned? "They were very positive," says Tim O'Callaghan. "Once they saw that the house was suitable, that allayed a lot of fears. Then they and the students helped in laying down the ground rules and setting out the budget. They really made a major contribution."

A huge amount of work is involved in a project like this. "Our principal was hugely supportive, and the local auctioneer found us a suitable property that was close to the school," he says.

Cost is clearly a significant factor for all schools when deciding on a transition-year programme. Luckily for the CBS, Charleville Credit Union donated the rent and paid for the insurance the school needed for the house. The school caretaker came to the rescue if there was ever a problem in the house. Of course the students had to take responsibility for abiding by the ground rules as not doing so would have jeopardised the entire project for everyone else involved.

It certainly seems like it was an enjoyable experience. Although there was the nine o'clock curfew, there was no set time for lights to be out. "We stayed up till all hours," Philip says, "You'd be nearly falling asleep for the first few classes but it got better as the day went on." After each group had spent a week in the house, the rota started from the top again and they all got a second week of living on their own.

Tim O'Callaghan explains, "Different groups got through the experience with varying degrees of success. Some struggled a bit but I do think that it was a valuable experience for them. The second week let them learn from their mistakes the first time around."

Philip agrees, "The second week was definitely easier. It was easier to cook and we got on great. I can't wait to go away to college now."

The boys from Charleville CBS used their independent-living experience as their entry for last year's Young Social Innovators awards. They reached the final and presented their project at the innovators' national showcase, at City West in Dublin. They didn't win but really enjoyed the experience - the disco was a particular highlight, apparently.

Young Social Innovators is a team competition in which a minimum of five and a maximum of 25 students work on a project that is aimed at creating a better society. They take a good look at the world in which they live, identify specific social needs, then go about creating a project that meets them. They have to write a report about what they have done, which they submit in March. From these a number of finalists are chosen, for the exhibition in Dublin.

Past winners include the students of Moyne Community School, in Longford, who came up with a model for an alternative youth centre in order to combat underage drinking. The students of Loreto Convent in Balbriggan, Co Dublin, did a huge amount towards raising awareness and promoting acceptance of immigrants and asylum seekers. They won the competition in 2003.

Looking at the award recipients over the past few years, it seems that almost anything goes. It's not all about social conscience, though, as everyone involved has a good time doing it. It is worth getting project ideas together soon, however, as Friday, October 15th is the closing date for entries.

For more details go to www.youngsocial innovators.ie