Gaelscoileanna tell me the advantages! Decisions to make!

[Mammytothreelo]

My eldest has been offered a place in our local Gaelscoil, it has a very good reputation & there is a gaelcholáiste for down the line that it feeds into for secondary.. Can you tell me the advantages of these schools?
He also has an offer for the educate together but it's reputation is quite sketchy & friends of mine say the academics aren't great & there are behaviour issues.
We are awaiting an offer from the local national school which is also good but I would specifically like to hear about the Gaelscoileanna & Irish speaking secondaries. DH & I would be confident enough to help at primary level with homework, school communication etc..

Family have found the gael school great for their eldest who is gifted at languages but not great with the youngest who is dyslexic. how is your Irish? I know the parents don't have to learn but I would find it strange not being able to support homework etc

Personally my children are thriving in the ETogether environment and are more empathetic due to realizing not everyone has their privileges, fully admitting they are self driven learners.

Both formats from what I can see locally create great school communities. We have a new non denominational Gael Scoil just opened, delighted to see more choice for parents.

Remember wherever your child goes their world will be their class, year and teachers so it be a unique experience. Does all your options go straight through or will there be a school change for third class onwards? Is there a guaranteed space etc ?

Mine also went ET and do for secondary and I think it is far superior than any other school to be honest. I am not a fan of Gaelscoil though so thats my judgement clouded on that.

To be fair it depends on the individual school. Personally I wouldn't be a fan of Irish speaking schools so never considered them. Plus relatives sent their child tho our local gaelscoil and it seemed an awful place with lots of bullying and snobbery. It drives me mad when people start saying ETs are better or Gaelscoils are better etc as a lot depends on the staff of a school at a particular time. We discounted the local ET as when I visited for the Christmas fair I didn't like the vibe at all so I much preferred our local national school which has been great. My son has asd and attends an asd class in a Deis school in a different part of town which would be classed as very rough and undesirable and the school is absolutely and utterly beyond amazing . So sorry OP I haven't answered your question at all but look at each individual school and go with your gut.

My mother went to a Gael cholaiste and she personally felt disadvantaged going to university not knowing English terms for a lot of different other subject areas. I have not experience of either so not my view.

Our kids went to a Gaelscoil. I/They loved the primary school, the teachers and staff were very motivated, and the school had an excellent reputation. Not being from the area, we went and spoke to various schools and like the school. Luckily there were places. I'm English, but moved at young age to Ireland have have good Irish. DH is English, and had zero. It was not a problem for primary.

For secondary school, there were both English and Irish language local options. Our kids wanted to go to Irish language school, not because of interest in the language (frankly, they had/have none! it's just something they spoke!) but rather due to where their friends were going.

For secondary school, the level of Irish language was such that we could not provide any support as parents on a lot of subjects. It was a constant concern for me. However, everything worked out OK for us. After junior cert, some kids switch from Irish->English stream.

Again, as always it depends on the school and teachers. Overall our kids had great school experience with (mostly) motivated and passionate teachers. Much better than what I've seen from my sisters kids in England.

Honestly, it depends on the individual schools in question and your individual child. Any school that has a reputation for behavioural issues I would stay well clear of to be honest.
The biggest drawback for Gaelscoil can be if your child has an SEN related to language which causes them to struggle in school.

We were offered three school places, a Garlscoil, an ET and a local primary.
I went for the local primary. Its a 10-minute walk away.
That’s worth its weight in gold, not being stuck behind the wheel twice a day, every day for 8 years.
That might not be your situation though.

It really depends on the school. The Gaescoil was very white Irish which, to me, isn’t representative of Dublin any more. DS’s school friends are of Spanish, Dutch, Lithuanian, Brazilian and Nigerian origin. It is far more diverse than the Gaelscoil.
Also, I have family who were educated through Irish from 5-18. Certain secondary school subjects can be very difficult through Irish, I recall there being a huge issue getting a Physics book in Irish. None of them has used a word of Irish since leaving school, nor the European languages they learned. I’m unsure as to the advantages for them to be honest and couple of them really, really struggled with LC English.

The ET was a new school and when I visited it was very chaotic. I just wasn’t keen on the vibe at all, the principal was a far too wishy washy for me. But not all ETs are the same.

It completely depends on the individual school.

I'm grateful for all the replies, much appreciated. Have had no offers from the local primary yet butvI believe it's later.
Op we can help for primary bht wouldn't be able for secondary Irish!

I think with secondary the school itself is more important than the language. With primary the same I suppose but I dont know if every all irish secondary will take students from English medium schools. It may not be a problem in your town anyway as maybe which secondary you go to is your choice rather than there being limited places.