Girl's secondary schools Sth Dublin - Cluny

[KanyesVest]

Does anyone know anything about St Joseph's Cluny? Can't believe I'm worrying about where to send dd, she's only going into senior infants!

[PuffPastry314]

I can't understand it either. But my eyesight is fine. Ive scrolled up down left and right. I don't see any mention of 12k

[PuffPastry314]

That's all i see

[KanyesVest]

That's what I saw at first too, but you can just about see the grid lines for the other column to the right. I had to turn on my auto rotate and turn my screen sideways to get the right width. Maybe try it on a bigger screen?

[PuffPastry314]

Yeh ill try on laptop later

[PuffPastry314]

Thanks kanye. I reactivated screen rotation on my phone and the other columns were then viewable. Not that i disbelieved y'all that it's 12k+
Wow.

[YesOfCourseAlways]

Columba's is boarding though, that's probably why it's so much more expensive. AFAIK it doesn't take day pupils. Most of their pupils are from Germany, Russia, China, Korea, the are relatively few Irish children.

[hollyisalovelyname]

They do take day pupils.

[PuffPastry314]

Two of my good friends went there. 4 years apart, they don't remember each other but neither of them gave me the impression that they were in the minority being Irish. I must ask them. Not that my son will be going there... I'm just curious.

[YesOfCourseAlways]

Fair enough Holly, I wasn't sure! My niece is there as a boarder at the moment, and that is what it is like now Puff, she says less than half her year are Irish, not that she minds, good to have a diverse group!

A friend of our teaches there, she said the school wouldn't have survived the recession without foreign pupils, they kept it afloat financially. I guess when you compare it to British public schools it's much less expensive, but they have the trappings that appeal to some parents - expansive grounds, historical buildings, ridiculous uniforms. My dc liken going up there to stepping into Hogwarts!

A lot of the Asian children are here all year and only go home at Christmas, they go to 'host families' for mid term, Christmas and Easter. It seems pretty grim to me, especially for the younger ones. They also have Spanish and German pupils who come for a year to study English, dn says it's a bit pointless as they all stick together and speak their mother tongue to each other. Columbas is hardcore boarding, no weekly boarding for them, dn gets home once a month, and only Sat afternoon to Monday morning as they have lessons on Saturday morning. Not what I would chose, but as previously said, horses for courses.

[YesOfCourseAlways]

Sorry, I meant to say the Asian pupils only go home for the summer hols

[MitzyLeFrouf]

'13k a year is in the region of what i thought though. Small class sizes dont come cheap'

Conleth's class sizes are even smaller and its fees are still a third of Columba's! It must be a 'the more expensive it is the more the wealthy want to have it' kind of thing.

[MitzyLeFrouf]

'Columba's is boarding though, that's probably why it's so much more expensive.'

The 13K is the fee for a day pupil. I suppose it must be double for boarders.

[MitzyLeFrouf]

'A lot of the Asian children are here all year and only go home at Christmas, they go to 'host families' for mid term, Christmas and Easter.'

That seems quite sad doesn't it? They must get to adulthood and barely know their families.

[PuffPastry314]

Everybody I know who went there loved it though, and has a really tight knit group of friends neary 3 decades later. I've never heard of Conleth's. Off to google it.

[PuffPastry314]

yesofcourse Thanks for that insider report! If you have a small class and half of them are foreign and only there for a year then if you don't click with anybody you're stuck with that small group for six years.

[KanyesVest]

I know sisters who went to Columba's but they were weekly boarders as far as I know...they only lived about 5 miles from the school. I lost contact with them when we went to secondary, so I don't know if they liked it.

My brother was in Conleth's for a couple of years. He really liked it. It's small and had a nice community feel to it. He was horribly bullied at the school before that, so it was just what he needed.

[YesOfCourseAlways]

Conleths is nice, as is Sandford Park, great pastoral care there, and they take girls now. I would really consider it if we lived closer. If you want small classes, Stratford in Rathgar is one to look at. A friend of DS is there with 12 pupils in his YEAR!! I think the classes are slightly larger now, but not much. In some subjects there were on 2 or 3 in the class, so practically private tuition. There are disadvantages to a small group though, if there's no one in the class that you really get along with it can be very difficult.

[squoosh]

I didn't know Sandford Park now took girls. That's good, there need to be more mixed schools in Dublin.

[squoosh]

And more non-denom schools too.

[YesOfCourseAlways]

I totally agree Squoosh, mixed, non denominational is the way to go. Conleths take girls from 5th on, they've done that for a long time, a few girls from my class moved there after the junior cert, I think you need to pretty self assured to do it though, you are in for a lot of scrutiny!

I know a lot of teens moving to the institute now for 5th and 6th year. They do transition there now, but it's not really in the spirt of transition year IYKWIM, it very academically focuses which is not the point of TY at all.

[squoosh]

I don't really the idea of the Institute, it's purely about the results isn't it rather than a rounded education. A few people in my school went there in fifth year. It was seen as being the glam option, no uniform, Stephen's Green location, boys!

[PuffPastry314]

OK for leaving cert repeats but wouuld people make life long friends at the institute!?

ARe you still allowed to mix and match points? Is Bruce College still going?

[PuffPastry314]

Sqoosh, Seems to me that secondary Education is becoming non-denom quicker than the government can officially structure it so, partly because of the choices people are making. At least 4 new ET secondary schools have opened up (in a wide area though) since DC1 went to secondary school. Schools that are Catholic are taking non-catholics and the private schools have their own rules of course, religion a factor but 7 grand to spare each year is a bigger factor. My DC1 is at a well respected Catholic school because it's nearby and they beat get v good LC results. There was ne'er a wrinkle of a nose at our musty Church of Irelandness at any point in the application process. 7 As in the Leaving Cert is the God we all worship. I'm joking. 90% joking. 4as and 3 bs, or i'll beat her with a sandal and make her sell spices at the market.

[hollyisalovelyname]

Squoosh
A friend of mine told me it was a really bad decision to send her dd to the Institute for the reasons you just mentioned - proximity to Stephen's Green/ town/ no uniform and boys!!!

[mathanxiety]

Forbidden fruit..

Maybe better to get all of that out of your system before university.