Anyone's kids at PBC, CBC, Bandon Grammar?

[mishmased]

Trying to plan ahead for next year. Child is in 5th class and our top two preferences are Pres and Christians. Bandon is a backup, a bit far but close to my place of employment.
Just wondering if anyone has kids at any of the schools? I attended both Pres and Christians open evenings and I was very impressed at both especially Christians.
Pres is closer to us distance wise whilst Christians is on the other side of town. Any experience on the schools will be appreciated.

Bumping...

Unless you have links to the school it'll be a lottery anyway as they'll almost certainly be oversubscribed, so just apply to them all and see how you go.

The first places will go to siblings. The next places are usually given to those who attended a linked primary school or whose parent or grandparent attended the school. Remaining places are by lottery. That's just a very broad outline - check each school website for their admission policy as they vary a bit from school to school. They will list the selection order.

Sorry, no experience of the schools themselves. Best of luck with it all.

Hands up, no personal experience of any of them. All have an excellent reputation locally. CBC would be the school producing the best academic results of those 3. Your son will need to be able to get to and from school himself so which makes more sense from that point of view? CBC and PBC have very good access to major bus routes. CBC and PBC are both modern schools with all the amazing facilities that private money brings, possibly Bandon is on a par with them in that regard. Your son will be expected to play rugby, this is one reason why some parents opt out of private in the city for Junior Cycle and instead choose a state school for JC and a move to a grind school after TY.

CBC and PBC are both pretty much old boys schools. You tend to go to whichever one your father attended, there is very strong brand loyalty. A few teachers at DDs school have sent their sons to CBC, whilst opting for state for their daughters.

We are blessed in Cork with many excellent state schools. DD's state school's top performers performed on a par with CBC with as many, or more, students achieving 6, 7, or 8 H1s at LC. The boys from CBC will be on the newspaper every year, the girls who've done equally as well keep it very discreet. However, the progression rates to university will always be higher overall for the private schools as families are wealthier, there are far fewer and less dependent SEN pupils. I doubt that any of the schools you mention have ever had a Special Olympian in the classroom.

Which school did your son prefer? Which school offered subject choices to suit him?

CBC would be the school producing the best academic results of those three.

Really? I'd have said Pres was on a par academically, or even that it had the edge over Christans? (We looked at both a few years ago but decided the travel time was too much so didn't apply in the end.) Not sure about Bandon.

Also, with regard to admissions, Bandon Grammar School is a Church of Ireland school so during the selection process they will give preference to those students who are CoI or another Protestant denomination.

Pres and Christians are Catholic ethos schools, but do not select students on the basis of their religion. (Only schools with an ethos that is linked to a minority religion in Ireland are allowed use religion as a selection criterion now.)

Thanks so much for your replies @Wrinkleflint and @SageRosemary.
We're proper 'blow-ins' so no links to Cork prior to moving here from Dublin a few years ago but we have settled well and love it here.
Applicants without links are number 4 on the list and my friend's child didn't get a place and only one boy in his year (of approx 60 6th year boys) got a place at Pres.

I got the impression that Christians will be more accomplished and a colleague's son got a place there without any links to the school.
I went my son to Christians but he was unwell on the open evening for Pres. He wants to go where most of his classmates are going (Sporaid Naoimh). He already plays rugby so that's no issue. Due to our location (Lehenaghmore) Pres is easier/closer to get to than Christian's but from the look of things Pres is more difficult to get into. @SageRosemary what other state schools would you recommend? Douglas com is awkward to get to by bus and I would prefer him to travel to school on his own if not from first year definitely second year. I also have another son two years younger who will go wherever the first goes

With regards to girls school, I've heard good things about Mount Mercy. What do you think? My daughter is not in playschool yet but o do like to plan ahead 😂
Thanks again for your responses.

Pres has the breakdown of places allocated last year on the website. So it gives some sort of indication of what to expect.
Last year 112 places, 182 applicants. Of those with no links to school 24 got a place, 52 went on waiting list. So about a 1 in 3 chance that year anyway.

Christians has similar info. 150 places, 301 applications. Of those who had absolutely no connection about 1 in 4 (38 in total) got a place and 116 on waiting list. However, as well as CBC prep they do mention their traditional feeder schools higher up on their list and I don't know which schools these are.

So for those with no school connection the chances of success in the lottery are better in Pres, but Christians is the bigger school so take more. Apply to lots of schools is my advice. The state schools often have lotteries too.

Not from the city so I don't know much about the other schools I'm afraid.

Should have said the chances of admission will vary year to year of course. That was just a very rough heads up.

@Wrinkleflint Christians historically was best, PBC overtook briefly, Christians back on top again. Very little between them, both very comfortably in top 20 in country. Probably pivots on who has the best Maths teachers to give them the edge. Certainly, if you have no attachment to either school you should be happy enough with the first of them to offer a place.

... ah, now @mishmased surely, if you're so interested in private education for your son, you would only consider the same for your daughter!!! Get her on the waitlist for Scoil Mhuire pronto. Or, sign her up for their junior school now.

In terms of progression to university, then I think the order of schools is Scoil Mhuire (girls, private), CBC (boys, private), PBC (boys, private) Mount Mercy (girls, state), St. Angela's (girls, state) possibly then Regina Mundae (girls, state). What all of these schools have in common would be a recognition by the vast majority of parents of the importance of a decent education and a commitment by them to making sure their child does their best. Scoil an Spioraid Naoimh (boys, state) and Christ the King (girls, state) would also perform very well.

For your son, Scoil an Spioraid Naoimh is a perfectly fine school. It does not have all the facilities as CBC and PBC. The average results will be significantly lower BUT the top performers are certainly capable of achieving 625 points. Opting for a grind school from 5th Year is sometimes chosen by parents. A friend has done that recently and would say that it is a son problem and not a school problem.

For your daughter, if MMC is a viable location, then I would recommend sending her to St. Catherines' National School if you can. This gives a cast-iron guarantee of getting to MMC. It's a small school so this may be as difficult as getting her into MMC eventually. However, it's located in a golden triangle between UCC, CUH, MTU, Bon Secours and the MFR Business parks. The hospitals and universities have highly paid staff who often are in situ for a specific tenure and then move back nearer their home places after gaining experience. This means that vacancies can arise in older classes. It's always worth enquiring. Next best option for primary is Scoil an Spioraid Naoimh (Cailíní), then the admissions order for primary feeder schools is Scoil Mhuire, Glasheen, Gaeilscoil Uí Riada, Wilton, Scoil an tAthair Maitiú, Togher, and Ballinora National School.

Another advantage of MMC is location, often parents will want to keep their student out of the city centre and all the distractions that has. Very sporty as well as academic.

@SageRosemary
Ah, I must have been checking figures at the 'briefly overtaken' stage then!
Local knowledge is a wonderful thing.

Moo Goo is a brand I would recommend for deodrant.

Battery or rechargeable razor is the safest option for a child, no chance of cuts or skin reactions.

Thanks again @Wrinkleflint @SageRosemary

"I got the impression that Christians will be more accomplished"
I meant to type ' I get the impression that Christians will be more easier to get into than Pres not accomplished 😂
I don't mind which one he gets into just the logistics for the first year. I think Christians did better at theLC this year as it is in their brochure they gave at the open evening.

My boys currently attend Glasheen at the moment and love it. Locals say Glasheen is a higher feeder school than Scoile Spiorad Naoimh to Colaiste An Spioraid Naoimh as it is an older school but I don't know.

I wouldn't mind state for my daughter as I'm hoping she'll be more focused than her brothers. They're good academically but could be better in my opinion hence the consideration of private schools and the extracurriculars, evening study etc is an added bonus.
I know nothing about girls school in Cork as I've only had boys until 2 years ago and I was planning for educating boys until she came along. I keep hearing MMC is very academic and a friend's daughters go there.

Another option I was told is to put my eldest in Christians primary to guarantee a space in the secondary school, but he'll be heartbroken if I do that so we'll see.

Thanks @SageRosemary I didn't know Moogoo do deodorant 😊

Ignore my last post, meant for another thread and I can't see the edit button now.

@Wrinkleflint your post about numbers on the waiting list is interesting, presumably there is considerable overlap between the lists so parents will have applied to both schools and may be offered one and withdraw from the other. Also, it is really odd that CBC don't specify the approved feeder schools.

It's so weird, I edited a post on another thread tonight and I can't do it now, sorry! I love MooGoo

@mishmased goodness, the admission policy for Coláiste an Spioraid Naoimh is very complicated in terms of feeder schools! Coláiste is the only boys' school in that parish but I am surprised that a school as far away as Cloghroe would be a feeder for it. I hear excellent things about the Glasheen primary schools, I am sure your lads enjoy it. Some of them must haves sisters who've got places in MMC so you might get some good intel as to how many of them are likely to get a spot there.

Yes, I agree. Unless you were really certain of a place (eg sibling) you'd apply to both of those schools, which makes it very likely that at least some of those on the waiting lists will be offered a place later on.

The rules about parents /grandparents changed a few years ago and now a maximum of 25% of students can gain admission using that criterion - so it's not completely certain you'll get in on those grounds. This change has made it more likely that people will apply to both schools.

I only skimmed CBC's admissions policy today so the feeder schools may have been there somewhere but I didn't notice them. They wouldn't have been relevant to us when we were looking a few years ago as we're quite a way outside the city.

I think there's a time limit of a few minutes for editing posts.

PBC don’t court the press and send photos etc of their Leaving cert students but results are all strong. They had a higher percentage of top results (625) this year than CBC did. they send the stats of the results just to parents in the school. Both schools are very much on a par academically, what would be interesting to know is how many are getting grinds etc outside of school. I don’t think this is an issue for JC but might be for LC. Also the really interesting stat I would like would be how many get their first choice of course at third level as that matters far more than number of points.

CBC have had a slightly bigger intake over the last few years which makes it easier for those who don’t have other connections to get in, if you really want to ensure a place 6th class in CBC primary might be an option too.
I have a son who went through PBC and it didn’t suit him at all for senior cycle so he moved and a son who is thriving there currently. They are two very different personalities. My brothers went to CBC and had very different experiences to each other, as have many friends sons. it is really down to the child how they handle a very all male environment with a good bit of competition. I would say both are similar that way. I think if one would suit either would. My son has friends outside of school in both CBC and Bandon and they are all happy with their choices.
Bandon is a slightly different vibe especially with the boarding aspect and obviously being mixed. All three schools have very wide catchments so be prepared to drive for parties/ get together etc. I know my sons class range from west cork as far as almost clonakilty, east to beyond Middleton, south to Kinsale / crosshaven and north to mallow as well as all city suburbs.

With regard to girls schools my Dd went to MMC and absolutely loved it. She left last June.

@SageRosemary @mishmased are you able to give me a steer on Glasheen Girls school? Moving back to Cork and it’s one of the options. Many thanks

Hi @LeeRom I don't have direct experience as my two primary school children are boys, but from listening to friends that send their kids there, it is a lovely school. The kids are very happy, and like the boys school very multicultural (if you like that). Another option will be St Catherine's as it is close enough to Glasheen. Best of luck with the move.

@LeeRom - I also don't have direct experience of Glasheen Girls. It would be very well regarded in the locality. It has DEIS status, which possibly originated decades back when there was many families dependent on social welfare for long term unemployment or single parent status. This has vastly changed, the locality is well sought after, but the school has held on to the DEIS status which brings the advantage of better pupil/teacher ratios and free lunches (cold) and much smaller voluntary contributions. (To note, other schools have been instructed to reduce their "voluntary" contribution and the hope is to introduce hot food into all primary schools at some point.) My parents generation would say "everyone understands why Glasheen got DEIS status, no-one understands why they retain it". My understanding is that they cater for a higher proportion of students with moderate to high additional needs, such as DS, in a special class. My DC would have encountered Glasheen Girls at secondary school and at after school activities. They all seem to be really lovely and very capable academically. If you are living locally and have the school on your doorstep then I am sure it will suit.

What other schools are you contemplating? What stage is your child at? Do you have a son to consider? St. Catherine's is great as OP suggested in last post. Also, there is Gaelscoil Uí Riada very close to Glasheen too.

@SageRosemary we have no voluntary contributions apart from €40 (or €50) for insurance and photocopying. Is that the voluntary contribution? I've heard schools pay at least €100 per child according to colleagues I work with.

I do find it funny that consultants on probably €150k have their kids fed for free 😂 but at the same time there are some kids from very deprived backgrounds.

I was torn between Glasheen Boys and An Spioraid Naoimh primary. I remember being told at Spioraid Noaimh the milk was €30/yr (or term can't remember) and got to Glasheen and I was told they get free lunches. I couldn't believe it as they're 2 miles away. I chose Glasheen as I liked the vibe and there were more blow ins like me 😂

Colleagues are shocked when I say we get school lunch but they live in Bishopstown or Douglas or Rochestown and I don't 🤣
During lockdown there was the offer to send the grocery box in place of school lunches. This hopefully meant that kids got fed good meals during that time.

With regard to Gaelscoil Ui Riada make sure to enquire on time as they only do one class every second year. My son missed out as we moved from Dublin in spring 2017, finally found a place to rent in Wilton and Gaelscoil Ui Riada was the only school that could t take him because they were having one class that year. He was registered at Gaelscoil Ui Earcain since he was a baby but we moved and he ended up in Glasheen which is a great school.

@LeeRom, @SageRosemary has lots of info there (especially for a blow-in like me). But I get the feeling from speaking with colleagues that the schools in Cork are very good.
Quick q @SageRosemary. What are the chances of getting into Colaiste An Spioraid Naoimh if you're number 40 on the waiting list? A colleague is in this situation and the wait is killing her.

Thanks so much @SageRosemary and @mishmased - really helpful. @SageRosemary she is 9 so looking for a third class place. St Catherine’s was full. A bit worried about her catching up with Irish.

I think you will be very pleased with Glasheen. And, 3rd class would be a difficult stage for transferring to a Gaelscoil.