Private school entry - Ireland

[Charbead49]

Have had a few threads on relocating from the UK

I have 3 small DC, one will be primary age next September.

I would like them to attend private secondary but how do you go about entry? Are there specific feeder primary schools or call you just apply and it's about space and money?

Do you have to have a link to the school?

Thanks for any Intel

This very much depends on the school, those with private primaries attached will give preference to children coming from that attached primary. Those schools tend to fill up for 4th/5th/6th class ime. Of course there's still spaces in the secondary but it's a handy guaranteed entry.

Also, I'd suggest asking MN to move this over to Craicnet, where you should get more posters who know about Irish schools.

Thank you for your reply, no idea why it wouldn't post in craicnet!

Yes it really depends on the school. What area will you be living in?

And do you have particular secondaries in mind?

We have been looking at castleknock but I think we will end up in a coastal areas like malahide, clontarf store to DH family.

Can't see which primaries are feeders or where is best to start them!

They all have their admission policies on the websites. The only feeder schools afaik are the ones with a junior school as well as a secondary school.

Secondary seems to be a mix of siblings/did mum or dad attend / when you put your name on the waiting list / lottery and attendance at junior school if applicable.

Entry for 1st year to these (and state) secondary schools is getting harder as many more children were born in Ireland in 2006 - 2011 than in earlier or indeed later years (2008 is the peak) so more places going to siblings.

In relation to your coastal / northern suburbs point - popular private schools are Belvedere for boys and Loreto on the Green for girls (which has a junior school). Also Sutton Park which has junior school.

Many / most kids in north Dublin suburbs go to state schools which depend on feeder primary/address. Travelling to town/south Dublin is the big drawback. Another option that some do is state to TY then Institute of Education for LC.

Aren't all the admission rules changing under the education act 2018 so there is no more 'first come, first served or preschools. I think this also applies to private schools, I have 3 at private and their school is definately changing, this was the last year of lists etc, from next year the policy will be they take applications only during a particular timeframe.
You'll be best served by checking each schools website.

Agree very much with @Focalpoint. Private schools are very difficult to get into unless the parents attended etc. There are excellent public schools in Ireland and if you choose to live in North Dublin, around the Sutton area, there are an abundance of excellent primary and secondary schools. They will all have their own admission policies which is usually based on catchment area address, feeder school and whether a sibling and/or parent has attended. HTH

@SecretIdentitee

Aren't all the admission rules changing under the education act 2018 so there is no more 'first come, first served or preschools. I think this also applies to private schools, I have 3 at private and their school is definately changing, this was the last year of lists etc, from next year the policy will be they take applications only during a particular timeframe. You'll be best served by checking each schools website.

The preschool rule won't apply to private primary I think because they receive no State funding. As far as I know all(most? Not sure) of the private secondaries do receive State funding though, so they will be subject to those rules. I know OP isn't currently looking at private primary but just so she's aware.

Curiously I can't see any mention of feeder primary schools in that rule change? It seems to be all aimed at primary intake. I'd have thought primary feeder schools would be problematic too.

As far as I know 'preschool' as mentioned under the act refers to all what what previously considered feeder schools rather than preschool meaning kindergarden so does incl secondary.
Also the criteria mentioned above of needing parents or siblings to have attended the school will also be removed.
From 2025 or 2026 the only criteria will be the application (though some schools will retain religious ethos),
As the op has very young children this will be the criteria by the time her kids start secondary.
Most school admission policies now show 2 admission criteria, one current and one up to xx date when they adopt the new criteria.
As I say ours stopped taking 'lists' last year and from next year the available places above those already booked will be om the new criteria and from 2025 will be all new criteria.

Apologies if I've mislead. Both mine are in secondary so haven't followed the changes very closely in recent years.

Out of interest and for the OP, what criteria can they use in future- is it just a lottery system? Or will where she lives at the time the child applies be a factor?

(Just checked and Belvedere and it is 1) siblings 2) sons of staff 3) sons and grandsons of former pupils capped at Mac 25% of places available 4) everyone else by lottery)

Thank you all so far for the information.

I guess a lot may be changing in Ireland with regards to schools but I am conscious I may choose an area then be out of catchment so interesting to know that might apply soon.

I would look at private primary but they seem quite few and far between.

I just had a quick look there and while it seems anyone can apply for a school no matter where they live, if it's oversubscribed for admissions then they use their admissions policies to decide who gets in. I can assure you that the majority of schools in North Dublin will most likely be oversubscribed so you would then fall into their admission policies which are usually, catchment area (local community), feeder schools (also local community usually), siblings etc.

I live in North Dublin and while anyone can apply to our local school it is always oversubscribed to the point that some local children cannot even get a place. The criteria for our local school is based on a points system - catchment area, local primary school, current sibling, past sibling, past parent.

The below may help:
www.citizensinformation.ie/en/education/the_irish_education_system/admissions_policies_in_primary_and_secondary_schools.html#

Also, just to point out that the top secondary schools as per 3rd level admissions are published each year. Many/most of the schools are not private on that list. I went to an excellent all girls school in North Dublin which is always in the top performing schools. We did horseriding, tennis, squash etc. It had excellent facilites and pretty much everyone went on to 3rd level. It is not a private school.

HTH

@FMSucks

I just had a quick look there and while it seems anyone can apply for a school no matter where they live, if it's oversubscribed for admissions then they use their admissions policies to decide who gets in. I can assure you that the majority of schools in North Dublin will most likely be oversubscribed so you would then fall into their admission policies which are usually, catchment area (local community), feeder schools (also local community usually), siblings etc.

I live in North Dublin and while anyone can apply to our local school it is always oversubscribed to the point that some local children cannot even get a place. The criteria for our local school is based on a points system - catchment area, local primary school, current sibling, past sibling, past parent.

The below may help:
www.citizensinformation.ie/en/education/the_irish_education_system/admissions_policies_in_primary_and_secondary_schools.html#

Also, just to point out that the top secondary schools as per 3rd level admissions are published each year. Many/most of the schools are not private on that list. I went to an excellent all girls school in North Dublin which is always in the top performing schools. We did horseriding, tennis, squash etc. It had excellent facilites and pretty much everyone went on to 3rd level. It is not a private school.

HTH

Can I ask what school or even what area?

@Charbead49 - I went to Santa Sabina in Sutton (all girls) St Fintans is also excellent (all boys) and Sutton Park school (mixed private).

Secondary schools are oversubscribed currently due to the high birth rates from 2007 onwards. However they fell a lot in more recent years so over subscription unlikely to be as much of a problem for your kids who are still young.

So from your point of view, secondary private school admission generally doesn't depend on catchment (but each school is different so this might not be universally true) and they have done away with priority based on waiting list. This is good news as you should be able to figure out which schools you want to apply to when the time comes rather than worrying about it now.

You need to think more about primary admission, which does depend on your address. You apply directly to the school, there is not centralised admission. In Dublin, if your child is born after about March or April they typically start the September after their 5th birthday, otherwise when they are 4. (legally can go any time between 4 and 6, no one "defers" it is purely parental choice whether to start at 4 or 5, but primary may prioritise 5 year olds when allocating places)

Most kids go to state primary schools although there are a few private ones.

If you want a private secondary school, your best bet is to live in south Dublin as this is where most is them are located. However the suburbs you mentioned are all north Dublin so your private school choice is more limited.

If you want to live in Castleknock - look at Kings Hospital. If you live in Clontarf - Belvedere, St Michaels, Loreto on the Green. (Many/most girls in Clontarf go to Holy Faith Clontarf which is a state school).

Malahide/Sutton/Howth then Sutton Park or commute into Dublin City centre for Belvedere/Loreto or further to any of the south Dublin schools. As the PP said, many Malahide/Sutton/Howth kids go to state schools which are all pretty good.

If I were you, I'd just focus on where you want to live, while keeping an eye on the primary school admission process.

Good luck with it all!

Thankful for the advice on here. we have applied to mostly state primary schools and one private (Sutton park).

Just wondering if anyone had experience of private primary is it worth it? Are you a shoe in for the secondary?

There's genuinely no need to waste money on a private school if you're in Clontarf.

Where I live, an hour north of Dublin, it’s easy to get into the private school, it’s a primary and the secondary is on the same grounds. All you need is the money, very easy to get a place, think I heard about €1,500 per term but maybe I misheard that. Maybe getting a place is tougher in the Dublin area.

Private primary is very expensive. Private secondaries have government funding in Ireland, so you are really only paying for the extras. Private primary don't get any funding and there are v v few of them left as state education is good and if you more middle classness, you go irish medium.
The fee paying primaries will be able to tell you where their kids go to secondary, just give them a call.

My kids go to a private primary. Fees are c. €6k per annum so broadly the same as most of the fee-paying secondary schools in Dublin.

Is it worth it? It really depends on what you are looking for from the school. My perception is the gap between fee paying and non fee paying schools in Ireland is much narrower than in the UK. I don’t believe the teaching is particularly better in fee-paying schools based on my own experience and if you are looking for hot-housing or pushing academic learning you really won’t find that in most of the private primaries in Dublin as far as I can see (the exception being Nord Anglia but it is a completely different focus and much more expensive).

What you are paying for is smaller classes, better facilities and clear access to secondary schools, as most of them have a post-primary school attached. In our case the school is small and has a strong nurturing vibe, which has worked well for our kids.

I genuinely believe that there is little reason to pay for private education in Ireland unless your main criteria is your child being part of a bubble or network where they will meet the 'right' people in terms of affluence, influence, etc. I would consider that a reason NOT to send them but that's just me.

AFAIK the admissions for primary for Sept is well underway already. That would need to be your main focus IMO. You may have more luck getting a place in a private primary if there is one in your area (not a given) but many many many Dublin state primaries are seriously oversubscribed. The one my kids went to would routinely get 300 applications for 28 places. When they're full, they're full.

If you have a private primary connected to the private secondary your child will get in (eg Willow to Blackrock, Alexandra College, St Mary's etc) People will sometimes move their child there in 5th class to ensure a place in the secondary. Some private primaries are not connected to a secondary (eg Rathgar Junior) and will give you a shoe-in nowhere.

Check out the admissions policies on their websites and you can find school evaluations on the schools also (for what they're worth) often also put on the school website but not always. You used to be able to put a child's name down at birth (and people did) and you'd know around 4th/5th class if the child had a place but the admissions policies have changed (well-intentioned but messy in the outcome). People don't (as suggested) necessarily choose private schools for social bubbles. In some cases at least it is about facilities, logistics, ethos (religious or not) and mixed or segregated sexes.

Be aware that over 90% of primary schools are of a religious ethos. Only minority religion schools can now use religion as a criteria for admission.

Good luck! I always have huge sympathy for anyone moving into this system. Once you're in it is straightforward enough but a PITA to negotiate.

All my kids went to private and I think they are v v easy to get into personally. There are so many now so unless you are in a place with only one or two I don't think you will have any problem.
My friend put her son down for 5 and was told by 3 that there was ZERO chance of a place and she got an offer on all 5. Same with everyone else I know. Offer might come late though
Think it was harder in the past
Blackrock is the only one I can think of that might be difficult and where you would need to go to the private primary school (Willow park) to guarantee a place
They are not allowed to go by siblings or parents etc anymore

My son went to a private primary, in terms of teaching on a par with state but I would say his confidence increased 10 fold by moving so worth every penny as far as I was concerned