Post-Primary Schools in the Republic of Ireland

[drochfhuaimniú]

I know this is not politics but I'm really looking for advice here from my fellow board members.

I have recently written to the cultural attaché to the USA from Ireland, people at the Department of Education & Science, etc., in the hopes of attending an exchange student programme to the Republic of Ireland.

Basically what I have been told is that there is no central governing body for this sort of thing in the Republic and that it would be in my best interests to contact individual schools on their own; a list of individual schools can be found here

Now I have three real problems here.

One is that it is an absolutely enormous list of schools, of course, all across the Republic through hill & dale.

Two, many of these schools have no websites, and some have pretty bad ones; so I'd be making a blind judgement if i talked to them or I could miss out on a very good one.

Third is that the list is very disorganized; added to the fact that apparently in Ireland many schools have the word "Community" or "College' in them despite the fact that they are Post-Primary/Secondary educational schools (In the USA all colleges are tertiary level education). There's also ones with Irish names, etc...

So what I'd like to ask is that if anyone here can help me; either by recommending a particularly good school that they attended, or one that they know of, it would really really help me in what I want to do. I am myself 16 years old, and will be entering my third (out of four) year of Highschool in the USA. Also I believe that Post-Primary and Secondary mean the same thing as far as education.

Thank you very much.

[drochfhuaimniú]

Well, alright. I don't know if anyone's been reading this but out of the following areas..

Cork City
Cork County
Galway City
Galway County
Limerick City
Wicklow
Dublin Fingal
Dublin South
Dublin City
Dublin Belgard
Waterford City
Waterford County
Roscommon
Leitrim

I've found about 14 schools to put on a "maybe" list, them being...

Ballincollig Community School
Coláiste an Chraoibhín, Fermoy
Mercy College Woodford
Portumna Community School
Lucan Community College
St. Colmcille's Community School, Knocklyon
St. Conleth's College
St. Columba's College
Larkin Community College
The High School Rathgar
Pobalscoil Neasáin
Abbey Community College Wicklow
St. Gerard's School
Ballinamore Post Primary Schools

[stringjack]

I recognise a couple of those. What made you select them?

[drochfhuaimniú]

I recognise a couple of those. What made you select them?

Well, very few of the high schools on the Department of Education & Science's institution list have websites. So that automatically narrows it down considerably. Then you must deduct all the all-girls' schools, which I can't really enter ;p. Then come the all-boys' schools, which I'll keep but would really rather not go to, and the same for the Catholic schools.

The ones above are the only ones that really suit those in those areas.

Since those listed above, I went through the lists of these areas;

Donegal
Sligo
Laois
Dún Laoighre - Rathdown

And found these 3 which I might consider.

Patrician College Ballyfin
St. Laurence College
Wesley College

Basically what I'm doing is going through the educational districts of the Republic of Ireland and making a list of which one's I'd like to use an exchange programme to get into. Once I've made the full list I'll narrow it down, and maybe with the help of some people here who have gone to Secondary School and can give me some advice.

[stringjack]

One obvious distinction you might consider is whether you're looking for a state school or a private school.

[drochfhuaimniú]

One obvious distinction you might consider is whether you're looking for a state school or a private school.

Well, that is a good point. If a private school charges a huge amount of money (as I think they're wont to do) then I might not consider them.

I do know that in the UK (or so I've been told) private schools are generally considered to be very superior to a public school. Is that true? And I think that in the Republic a public school is usually picked out by the word Community or something along those lines in its name?

[stringjack]

And I think that in the Republic a public school is usually picked out by the word Community or something along those lines in its name?

I can't think of any private schools that have 'Community' in their names, but the reverse isn't true (i.e. the absence of 'Community' doesn't mean that the school is a private one). Furthermore, as far as I know, 'Community' schools will tend to be ones that are not associated with any of the religious orders.

[smiffy]

And I think that in the Republic a public school is usually picked out by the word Community or something along those lines in its name?

It's a little more complicated. A large number of schools would be, strictly speaking, private insofar as they're owned by religious orders or other groups. However, only a small number of these would be fee-paying schools which is what most people are talking about when they refer to 'private' schools.

Maybe a better place to start here would be to explain what why you want to come over, and what you're hoping to get from the experience. Assuming that you're not planning to doing the Leaving Cert what most people would consider the 'best' schools mightn't be what you're actually looking for.

[drochfhuaimniú]

I can't think of any private schools that have 'Community' in their names, but the reverse isn't true (i.e. the absence of 'Community' doesn't mean that the school is a private one). Furthermore, as far as I know, 'Community' schools will tend to be ones that are not associated with any of the religious orders.

Ahh, thank you. I'm not sure how I feel on religious orders.

It's a little more complicated. A large number of schools would be, strictly speaking, private insofar as they're owned by religious orders or other groups. However, only a small number of these would be fee-paying schools which is what most people are talking about when they refer to 'private' schools.

I guess being an American I automatically associate private=fee-paying. How do the schools get by without fees? Paying for extra things..?

Maybe a better place to start here would be to explain what why you want to come over, and what you're hoping to get from the experience. Assuming that you're not planning to doing the Leaving Cert what most people would consider the 'best' schools mightn't be what you're actually looking for.

Well, I'm thinking of majoring in Irish Studies at NUI Galway. I really doubt I'd take a Leaving Cert; I would be up to it, I think, and I wouldn't have to take the Gaeilge part. I'd like to do a semester or a year or something in an Irish secondary school just to get a taste of the general feel of the country where I'd like to live.

[stringjack]

Ahh, thank you. I'm not sure how I feel on religious orders.

It should be noted that even in such schools, actual members of the religious orders, though often in senior positions, generally constitute a small minority of the teaching staff.