South Dublin Secondary

[Childbeingreallybold]

Anyone have a view on whether Muckross or Conleth’s are good options.
For a first year.
Not me. My sister’s girl.

I think they're both v posh so should be passable 😂

They are very different.

Muckross all girls, quite pressurised academically, sporty,

Conleths is mixed, different ethos, would suit less academic pupils better I'd say.

One big issue in Conleths is space, the fairly small building has 4 to 18/19 year olds and a tiny outdoor space. They use the park a lot of PE but the physical space of the school is very constrained. Muckross is huge in comparison, both the building and the outdoor area.

Muckross is non fee paying, Conleths has fees.

I'd say it very much depends on the child, their ability/interests, etc

Thanks! I'm gone from Dublin now but all that would have me driven demented! Although, saying that, the competition for the NFPS is as bad elsewhere. The country is a joke :(

Thanks for that. Appreciate it. Child is very very academically able. So would do well in academic environment. But had impression Conleth’s was fairly academic too?

Conleth’s is excellent academically - its results are very good and it is well able to support high achievers (one girl last year achieved 9 H1s), so I don’t think you’d have any worries on that front. It is more accommodating of kids who may be a little alternative/less academic/non-sporty than some of the other fee paying schools in Dublin but the standards they hold the kids to are still high. Space is at a premium there, although it doesn’t seem to get in the way of anything. The fact it’s mixed is a big plus in my view, but may not be a priority for everyone.

St Conleth's is a small, mixed gender fee paying school.
Muckross is a big all girls school, it gets good results.it is a "free" school - as in non fee paying. I wouldn't have thought of it as posh.
My sister lives nearby

Totally thought it was posh! Forgive my ignorance!

It sounds like it’s much of a muchness. Very hard for them to choose

You might have got it mixed up with Mount Anville - that's supposedly "posh".
Have you read the satirical Ross O' Carroll Kelly books or the man behind Ross, Paul Howard's satirical articles on RO'C K in the Irish Times on Saturdays ?

I went to Muckross in primary a million years ago. I'm afraid that my only insight is that there was a great chestnut tree, Miss Trimble was very kind and wore creamy pink lipstick and a turban (!), and Sharon [surname redacted] had very long hair. 😁

Muckross is more difficult to get into, because it is a very good school and non fee paying. St Conleths is a totally different kettle of fish - it is fee paying, mixed, and they take all the children who are asked to leave other schools (but only the ones whose parents can afford the fees, naturally )

Not a hope! The articles were somewhat amusing.....in the beginning. As with everything else in this country, they dragged the absolute arse out of it.

What are the fees like out of curiosity?

I think of Muckross as somewhat posh, because all the girls I knew who went there (certainly 20 years ago) had professional parents and lived in very good areas. It was 100% one of the socially "acceptable" schools.

Totally thought it was posh! Forgive my ignorance!

Muckross is posh. And very hard to get into.

Especially as it's non-fee paying, meaning it offers the SDC, private school experience without the cost.

It has a good reputation academically.

But certainly experiences some issues around behaviour.

Conleth’s takes all the kids asked to leave other schools? Where are you getting this nonsense from? It’s complete bull.

I hadn’t heard of this previously.

Has offer of both

.

You haven’t heard of this because it’s not true.

Obviously I'm not saying all, but I absolutely know of a handful, over the years. And I'm not saying it as a bad thing either, so there is no need to get aggressive about it. The same is true of Theresians and Newpark, whereas other schools are closed to any child who might be a bit more work.

Ye should try getting into the schools in Galway, all NFP but all impossible! It's a nightmare! I keep telling myself it'll be over this time next year etc but jfc it's crazy stuff altogether!

Alexandra College fits the bill

How do you mean?

I’ve had 3 DDs go through Muckross recently and would recommend it.
Great academics. In the last few years it has been 10-12% of pupils getting the max Leaving Cert points. Multiple students getting 7,8 or 9 H1s. Though my favourite statistic at the last PA meeting I attended was that no one failed any paper that year and they were as proud of those who worked very hard to pass 5 subjects as they were of those who got perfect points/
Lots of sport available and some students making national teams. None of mine were sporty though.

Decent pastoral care and generally less bitchy and entitled than some of the other South Dublin schools.

Generally a happy place.