Benefits of Gaelscoileanna & gaelcholáiste

[Christmascarolle]

My eldest is nearing the end of her gaelscoil years & has expressed interest in going to a gaelcholáiste. At the end of the day it's her choice & she enjoys Irish immensely. What other benefits would there be for continuing her education as Gaeilge?

One of the reasons I’ve been disinclined to send one of mine to our local Irish school is the transition back to English vocabulary in third level and in the workforce. Also, she’d have been starting at secondary as we didn’t choose the gaelscoil either for other reasons. I felt the transition would be too hard. I’m mildly regretful because we have two excellent schools locally and I feel I’ve missed an opportunity for her.

Thinking back to my own days in secondary (through English), there was a huge difference in ability in first year Irish but by leaving cert no discernible difference between those who went to gaelscoil and the rest of us. So I suppose if keeping up the standard of gaeilge is important, it would be worthwhile. If not speaking it daily, the ability does erode. And the attitude to Irish can be very negative too.

I know several families that went to the local coláiste to junior cycle and then transferred back into the English language schools for leaving cert which surprised me because I would have assumed that the potential for extra points would have been significant. But they all felt that it took pressure off, and was a better preparation for uni and work. They were not Irish speaking families though so that might have been a factor.

Thanks for the honest reply. It's such a hard decision to make, she has another year to make up her mind but at the moment firmly wants to go to the gaelcholáiste.
A factor that has been worrying me is the teacher shortage, it's bad enough in an English school but I'd imagine it's detrimental in an Irish speaking school. Also the subjects offered may be less due to the teacher shortage...

I wouldn't have an issue with this

One of the reasons I’ve been disinclined to send one of mine to our local Irish school is the transition back to English vocabulary in third level and in the workforce

I've had an IME for primary and secondary and even did most of my first degree through Irish (teaching). No issue with transitioning to English vocabulary. I went on to oxbridge for masters and then a doctorate.

I'd be more interested in the ethos of the school, pastoral support, exam results and where students go after (uni wise).

Family members had issues when they went from second to third Level. They studied science and had to relearn pretty much the terms for everything.

In saying that it served her sister better because she went on to do languages and has six or seven now.

For 98% of us English is our mother tongue. We are simply not going to lose any proficiency in it because we learn another.

I have 4 children who are / did go through Gaelscoil and Gaelcolaiste. My oldest 2 did Science...masters level and honestly had no problem with transition from secondary ( gaelscoil) to University. They did Chemistry and Biomedical science. They said that the formulae, experiments and methodology were practically the same and any difference in names were easily translated. My other 2 are in Junior Cert and Leaving Cert and will hopefully transfer without major difficulties to Uni when time comes. For me, the smaller classes and extra points in LC were beneficial . I do agree that it might not suit every student, especially if a student was struggling with any language difficulties. I also think it has given them such a pride and love for the Irish language and culture that this will stay with them for life.

One of my biggest regrets is not sending our DC to our local Gaelscoil. At the time it was operating out of prefabs and was pretty dire. I didn't give any thought to second level but turns out the feeder gaelcholáiste is brilliant. Gets really good results and has a lovely ethos/good reputation (I know some of the pupils there now) By the time I realised, it was too late for them to get in. Don't students get additional points in LC for sitting the exam in Irish? That would be another plus for me. It's not something I dwell on and my DC are doing well where they are, but still if I could do it all again...