Girls secondary schools in Limerick city

Taceom

My daughter will be going to secondary school next September and we are currently trying to decide where best to send her. She would like to go to an all girls school so we have attended the Open Day/Nights for the girls schools. I was impressed with all we saw and heard on those open nights and now the problem arises as I don't know which school to pick. I had one very obvious favourite while my daughter had another. We do not live in Limerick city and do not know anyone we can ask for opinions, so I am hoping someone here might be able to give me some information. I am particularly interested in Laurel Hill and Scoil Carmel and would be grateful for anything good or bad anyone can tell me of their experiences with either of these schools or indeed any of the other all-girls schools. I would love to have a real reason to put 1 or 2 (or not) opposite those schools on the CAS form instead of having to go down the eeny-meeny route.
Thanks in advance.

Cpt_Blackbeard

Its simple...Where does your daughter want to go? She'll be the one going there every day for 6 years not you.

Raiser

Cpt_Blackbeard wrote: »

Its simple...Where does your daughter want to go? She'll be the one going there every day for 6 years not you.

Hmmmm....... Yeah def. try and determine what is important to her and then find out why as much as you can.

- I'd say it makes sense to remember your own decision making skills and objectivity back when you were aged 11 or 12, in all fairness there is no substitute for a mature and experienced outlook sometimes - Enroll in haste repent at leisure!!!

FWIW I'd be guessing that there's more fist fights and Teachers head-butted in Scoil Carmel than in Laurel Hill

LB6

Taceom,

I went to the Mount (SC) - but it's 25 yrs since I left there. Back then it was a lovely school - granted they promised new buildings to my parents who forked over money hand over fist to get us out of the pre-fabs - guess what - they still have pre-fabs!

I'm living in the burbs now myself and haven't sent any of my own kids into town. They may be more independent in getting to and from school, however there is no guarantee that they will actually get off the bus and go to class.

I've put my three out to Coláiste Chiaráin - granted it's a mixed school, discipline is of utmost importance, results are great, teachers are easy to talk to both from a parents and a students point-of-view and they're bussed from the front door to the school door and if they don't log in each morning they're a phone call home to see why there's an absence.

My son finished his 6 yrs out there and my two girls are there now - as far as I'm concerned a mixed ed system was a good choice - a little bit of competition is good for them, it also gives the girls options to do subjects like tech graphics, wood work etc that would only be made available to boys in boy's only schools and same for boys who can do home ec., etc....

Good luck in your choice - it's very limited I know - but your best bet is to talk to students going to either school and see how they find it.

iguana

Taceom wrote: »

I would love to have a real reason to put 1 or 2 (or not) opposite those schools on the CAS form instead of having to go down the eeny-meeny route.

Have you really examined what way subjects are offered? In my experience (20 years ago :eek:) I attended lots of open days where certain subjects were shown to be taught but if you pushed for more information those subjects were only available under limited circumstances. Perhaps only to "Pass" level at Leaving cert and not "Honours." It would be an awful shame to attend a school based on the fact that it offered Italian, for example, and then find that if you pursue that language you automatically lose 40 points on the Leaving because you can only do the exam at the lower level.

Also how about transition year? Do you have an opinion on that? In some schools it's mandatory while in others it's optional and in others there are just a limited number of places each year. I personally would never have gone to a school where it was mandatory so that would have made my decision for me. But if your daughter feels she would definitely like to do it then it's worth thinking twice about a school with limited spaces.

I know both of those things still seem far into the future but in most cases the school you join as a first year will be the same one you graduate from. So it makes sense to be thinking about the senior cycle now.

Butterfly25

As with any school, you will always get the undesirables. It doesn't matter what school you pick, at the end of the day you cant pick the people your daughter will sit beside/hand out with.


Let your daughter decide the school she would prefer. Its about the student not the school. They'll all learn the same curriculum.

Cpt_Blackbeard

They are both very different schools, pretty much opposite ends of the spectrum. Would you prefer your daughter to wear hoop earrings or a side fringe :P

LB6

LMAO - that just about sums it up in a nutshell!

Crea

My niece goes to Laurel Hill. She is very happy there and her grades are good.

I went there 21 years ago - so I won't even advise on that.
Mind you I have a dd aged 5 and that would be the all girls school i'd pick for her.

Butterfly25

Cpt_Blackbeard wrote: »

They are both very different schools, pretty much opposite ends of the spectrum. Would you prefer your daughter to wear hoop earrings or a side fringe :P

Hardly!

There are just as many scumbags and decent girls in both schools!

Jofspring

Butterfly25 wrote: »

Hardly!

There are just as many scumbags and decent girls in both schools!

Ya i agree with that. Not much difference in most Schools in Limerick these days.

I went to St. Nessans which would have been considered a scummy school but there was way more nice people than scum in it and Ard Scoil which was supposedly a higher class had as many bad eggs in it.

Heard great things about Colaiste Chiarain also.

Cpt_Blackbeard

Butterfly25 wrote: »

Hardly!

There are just as many scumbags and decent girls in both schools!

I know girls in both schools but Scoil Carmel does appear to be worse, this is just from walking around town on a Weekday the last couple of years. Laurel Hill is viewed as a posher school, but I'll admit that Colaiste does add to the amount of side-fringes. :P

Im sure that Scoil Carmel is a nice school though

Cpt_Blackbeard

There is no need to jump into stereotypes really though, its much too easy to generalise every school in Limerick (I'd be happy to have a go though :pac:)

My comment was just a generalisation of how the schools are viewed

Mc Love

I went to Clements but if I was doing it again, I would have gone to the Comp!

zuroph

Mc Love wrote: »

I went to Clements but if I was doing it again, I would have gone to the Comp!

i know right?! Christ, the comp. Why did I not know about it before I started. so many missed years of opportunity.



OP, Laurel hill > SC in my opinion.

Mc Love

Most of my friends were going there - so thats my reason! Plus the fact it was in town but Crescent Comp was practically a stones throw away

Captain Average

I went to Enda's so I'm in no place to comment on the quality of any school in Limerick:D

Raiser

Captain Average wrote: »

I went to Enda's so I'm in no place to comment on the quality of any school in Limerick:D

Bet you could comment on the 4am ease of entry to any Secondary School in Limerick

Insect Overlord

Serious replies only here, please. The OP did request advice, and not jokes.

houndsoflove

The presentation secondary on sexton street!! :eek:

The Snipe

As someone who is still in Secondary (Almost out thank god!) I know people in a few schools,

Laurel Hill: From what I hear its a really good school, Nice crouds in there and the teachers seem to be enjoyable to learn from, and the Principal, and Vice are really nice.

Scoil Carmel: A lot of fist fights etc. go on here, often seen to the teenage age group as being 'slutty'

Salesions: Both my sisters went here, as well as a few friends, and from what I know its a brilliant school, really well run, really involved in the community.

But it all really depends on where you live too due to traffic etc. too.

iguana

houndsoflove wrote: »

The presentation secondary on sexton street!! :eek:

Is actually a very good school and regularly produces the some of the best results in the country.

It just has a fairly open policy about letting in pupils of all abilities because it has vocational streams as well as academic. Good students will rarely share classes with the less academic as it runs separate streams. But when it comes to range of subjects they were unparalleled in Limerick and they bent over backwards to make their timetables suit their students requirements. They also have unbeatable social and political study programmes for senior students due to the fact that one of their teachers is a senator.

rainbowdash

I was speaking to somebody recently and their kid is looking for a secondary school. Its very difficult to get into Laurel Hill if you don't have connections (parent, teacher or older sister in already) so chances are you will not get your first choice. Then theres a risk you won't get your second choice as the places are taken with people who put it down as No. 1. so you could end up with your 3rd choice but that could be gone etc.

That probably doesn't describe it exactly but you get the idea and its something to be wary of.

Raiser

rainbowdash wrote: »

I was speaking to somebody recently and their kid is looking for a secondary school. Its very difficult to get into Laurel Hill if you don't have connections (parent, teacher or older sister in already) so chances are you will not get your first choice. Then theres a risk you won't get your second choice as the places are taken with people who put it down as No. 1. so you could end up with your 3rd choice but that could be gone etc.

That probably doesn't describe it exactly but you get the idea and its something to be wary of.

Oh doom, DOOM!!! - I think what they mean is that you'll have to turn up your morning radio show really loud cause your 12 year is going to be sitting there bored beside you every day......

Def. consider the Schools outside of Limerick City also, you may need to research Buses etc. but I wouldn't rule them out at all.

Taceom

Thanks everyone for all your insight and information, I really appreciate it.

SarahBeep!

iguana wrote: »

Is actually a very good school and regularly produces the some of the best results in the country.

It just has a fairly open policy about letting in pupils of all abilities because it has vocational streams as well as academic. Good students will rarely share classes with the less academic as it runs separate streams. But when it comes to range of subjects they were unparalleled in Limerick and they bent over backwards to make their timetables suit their students requirements. They also have unbeatable social and political study programmes for senior students due to the fact that one of their teachers is a senator.

You're well far off target there!

I started there in '04 and it was fine. Not great but it was only down the road. I'm in my 2nd year of college now and I realise how much I missed out on by going there. My mam and I were talking last week and even she said lookng back she sends me here. I'm so glad I finished there when I did because it's getting worse and worse.

They 'offer' a wide range of subjects? Nope. They have a staff that is qualified to teach a wide range of subjects. They don't offer many at all. Fully qualified Tech Graphics teachers, Ag Science, Engineering...Not one Modern subject is offered. It's very rare that Physics and Chemistry are offered at LC and NEVER both. I think only me and one other girl have managed to do all 3 sciences @ LC in the past 15 years.

The principal has an amazing staff and refuses to utilise.

Their discipline policies and procedues are second rate and shoddy.

They do have an inclusion policy of 'any student, any ability' but they just stick all the lower ability students together. They do less sucjects @ Junior Cert and are treated like they're only there because they're under 17.

In my opinion, send your girl to a mixed school. Way better range of subjects, get her uded to working with both males and females. Give her a better chance

lizoreilly

Scoil Carmel is a school on the up. There is a very positive atmosphere there and many dynamic changes. Come and see for yourself. I suggest you make an appointment and call to see the school in session. My daughters were very happy there and achieved very highly

Builderfromhell

lizoreilly wrote: »

Scoil Carmel is a school on the up. There is a very positive atmosphere there and many dynamic changes. Come and see for yourself. I suggest you make an appointment and call to see the school in session. My daughters were very happy there and achieved very highly

May have to move my daughter from Villiers (can't afford it anymore) and am, once again, considering Scoil Carmel.
Do you know are there any openings there?
What iritates me about most secondary schools is the insistence on following the Catholic Ethos. Insisting kids go to mass on special days. We chose Villiers to avoid all that.

Raiser

Builderfromhell wrote: »

May have to move my daughter from Villiers (can't afford it anymore) and am, once again, considering Scoil Carmel.
Do you know are there any openings there?
What iritates me about most secondary schools is the insistence on following the Catholic Ethos. Insisting kids go to mass on special days. We chose Villiers to avoid all that.

Its morally wrong to use your wealth and privilege to shield your offspring from the inane, nonsensical wafflings of Christs Bible Bashers on Earth.

- Let them sit through their share of Jesus-Babble like we all had to - Its character building

lizoreilly wrote: »

Scoil Carmel is a school on the up. There is a very positive atmosphere there and many dynamic changes. Come and see for yourself. I suggest you make an appointment and call to see the school in session. My daughters were very happy there and achieved very highly

Liz O'Reilly I'm curious as to why you'd post that on here?

Also you say 'come' see for yourself as opposed to 'go' - Are you on the Staff there?

- I've no problem if you are by the way, I see nothing wrong with speaking on behalf of an Institution you admire/believe in etc.

db

This topic comes up every year around this time. I went through it last year with my own daughter and it can be a very worrying time for both parents and children. If the school you pick is one of the more popular schools in town, Crescent, Laurel Hill English / Colaiste, Ard Scoil or Castletroy, and you do not have right of entry then be prepared to be disappointed if you put it down as first choice. There is a very good chance you will not get this school and you will have to settle for whichever school you are allocated based on your lower choices.
My daughter applied for Laurel Hill but got Salesians instead. We rejected this because she had a place in a school out the country.
Everyone wants the best for their child but in this case selecting Scoil Carmel as first choice may be the best thing you can do.

Taceom

db wrote: »

This topic comes up every year around this time. I went through it last year with my own daughter and it can be a very worrying time for both parents and children. If the school you pick is one of the more popular schools in town, Crescent, Laurel Hill English / Colaiste, Ard Scoil or Castletroy, and you do not have right of entry then be prepared to be disappointed if you put it down as first choice. There is a very good chance you will not get this school and you will have to settle for whichever school you are allocated based on your lower choices.
My daughter applied for Laurel Hill but got Salesians instead. We rejected this because she had a place in a school out the country.
Everyone wants the best for their child but in this case selecting Scoil Carmel as first choice may be the best thing you can do.

Do you mind if I ask if Salesians was your second choice or was that school further down your list?

db

Salesians was about 6th. My wife had been to school there and felt at the open night that very little had changed in the 20 years since she had left.
I think there are 3 divisions of school in Limerick - the top division where after right of entry kids are catered for only about 10% of the remainder of applicants get a place, the middle division where pretty much all those who put the school down as No 1 get a place but mostly full after round 1 and the remainder that very few pick as first choice.
It is a terrible way to decide on childrens' education if it was done fairly but the system is open to abuse and rife with rumours that you need to have the right contacts to get the school you want. This may not be the case but the way the system works is that the form goes to the school that is first choice and they pick who they want from their applications. Any excess are then sent back to the central office for allocation to the schools that were not filled in the first round. It is way too easy for interference to take place when some schools are vastly over-subscribed.

Raiser

I'm not sure if your criteria list takes account of the so called "streaming" systems that are out there?

- I can provide a brief guide....

The top stream enters first year and meet with the Schools best, most astute and dedicated Teachers who bring out the best in every Pupil, they cover the Syllabus expertly in record time and then spend the balance debating life's mysteries in Latin and playing spirited games of Chess - This practice continues until the Students sit the Leaving Cert. and go on to pursue careers as Surgeons and Actuaries.

The lowest stream enters first year and meets with the Schools burned out Teachers who are just days away from their next nervous breakdown. They spend their days failing to control their Classes and popping depression medication. While the Students throw punches, stab each other with the contents of their mathematical tin boxes and head butt each other. In the absence of an 'education' these Students leave after 6th year with approximately the same level of knowledge they arrived with, minus the average amount you'd naturally expect to forget in a 6 year period.

Plato had nothing on an Irish Secondary Schools streaming ideologies.......

-For the record I wasn't in a, so-called, top or bottom stream - But I did get to see the system failing People in so many respects for a lot longer than I'd care to remember and most certainly no Child of mine will ever have to suffer such a ridiculously imbalanced, inefficient, flawed, self-defeating, callous and hopeless system of educational woe.

Taceom

lizoreilly wrote: »

Scoil Carmel is a school on the up. There is a very positive atmosphere there and many dynamic changes. Come and see for yourself. I suggest you make an appointment and call to see the school in session. My daughters were very happy there and achieved very highly

I have to say I was very impressed with Scoil Carmel on Open Night. I felt it was one of the best organised of the open nights I've attended. The Principal came across as a very no-nonsense lady, one who runs a tight ship and I like that.

Taceom

db wrote: »

Salesians was about 6th. My wife had been to school there and felt at the open night that very little had changed in the 20 years since she had left.
I think there are 3 divisions of school in Limerick - the top division where after right of entry kids are catered for only about 10% of the remainder of applicants get a place, the middle division where pretty much all those who put the school down as No 1 get a place but mostly full after round 1 and the remainder that very few pick as first choice.
It is a terrible way to decide on childrens' education if it was done fairly but the system is open to abuse and rife with rumours that you need to have the right contacts to get the school you want. This may not be the case but the way the system works is that the form goes to the school that is first choice and they pick who they want from their applications. Any excess are then sent back to the central office for allocation to the schools that were not filled in the first round. It is way too easy for interference to take place when some schools are vastly over-subscribed.

Your post is very depressing to read. I was certainly hoping if we didn't get our first choice we would get our 2nd. If we only get 6th choice that rules out any all-girls school which is what my daughter really wants.
Thank you anyway.

db

If you are interested in Scoil Carmel as you say above, you should make an appointment to see the principal and learn about the school in more detail. If it was a choice between there and Laurel Hill, I would definitely pick Scoil Carmel. As I said above we had a good second choice already confirmed so we did not have the same level of worry that city based parents have.
Laurel Hill only took in 90 first years last year instead of the usual 120 so it may be a little easier this year to get in. Again, meet the principal and find out the exact details of their enrollment this year.

winniewonka

I have a daughter transferring to secondary school, I did not go to school in Limerick so I am completely new to this game. We did the rounds of the Open Nights etc etc. Must say I was really impressed with Scoil Carmel. It seemed to have an energy of its own. I too like the no nonsense approach i sensed there. I get the impression that there is little tolerance of messing etc. I am seriously considering it and my daughter was very taken by it.

Raiser

winniewonka wrote: »

I have a daughter transferring to secondary school, I did not go to school in Limerick so I am completely new to this game. We did the rounds of the Open Nights etc etc. Must say I was really impressed with Scoil Carmel. It seemed to have an energy of its own. I too like the no nonsense approach i sensed there. I get the impression that there is little tolerance of messing etc. I am seriously considering it and my daughter was very taken by it.

What are they like to work for Winnie?

- Does anyone know whether its the case that if Schools don't meet certain attendance quotas then temporary or permanent Staff might get let go?



Mary Jane my 'Mom' showed me your post and asked if it was written in the Staff Room there!!!

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zuroph

scaring off the young ones... nice going raiser :mad:

Raiser

Sold!!!!

I'm going to take all of my 9 Daughters out of various Secondary Schools around Limerick and Enroll them in Da Mount if ye will just stop the ridiculous propaganda campaign......

- Can't wait to see the next made up post:

NANNA2010: My Granddaughter was a Harlot until She went to Scoil Carmel, now she is in a Convent and is in the top 10 of the Euro Nun League.

You should come to our open night and judge for yourself!!!!!

iguana

OP, does your daughter favour the Mount, maybe because her friends are choosing to go there? If so I think she worked out that you asked for opinions on here and she and her friends have all signed up convince you about what a great school it is.:)

Insect Overlord

FrankB2010 and mary_jane perma-banned from the Limerick City Forum for being the same person. LOL.

Taceom

iguana wrote: »

OP, does your daughter favour the Mount, maybe because her friends are choosing to go there? If so I think she worked out that you asked for opinions on here and she and her friends have all signed up convince you about what a great school it is.:)

The "Mount" I'm assuming is some kind of nickname for Scoil Carmel? Our nearest secondary schools are co-ed and out in the country and that is where my daughter's friends will go to school. We/She knows no one attending or intending to go to the girls schools in Limerick.
So you think that those who have said good things here about Scoil Carmel are not genuine?

iguana

Taceom wrote: »

So you think that those who have said good things here about Scoil Carmel are not genuine?

We had four brand new posters sign on to boards especially to say how great this one school is, the odds of that happening are slim. The moderators checked it and at least two of the posters were posting from the same place; mary_jane and FrankB2010. Seeing as how mary_jane claimed to be recently graduated while Frank claims to be going through the secondary selection process for the first time, so they clearly are not father and daughter. At least one story is fictional, probably both.

So if people are making fake log-ins to promote the school you have to wonder why. Who would gain from it. Sure the school might want to promote itself but to be honest I doubt staff are on here promoting the school, they aren't a small business looking for a bit of free advertising. If it is her first choice but not yours the person who has the most to gain from you being impressed with Scoil Carmel (yes the Mount) is your daughter.

Raiser

I hadn't thought of Iguanas angle re. the Kids plotting!!! But (S)he may well be right.......

- I did notice that some of the posts were all 'come' have a look, and seemed to have been written from an Insiders perspective despite pretending they were Pupils/Parents themselves.

Taceom

I missed those posts from Mary Jane and Frank. But I take your point.

winniewonka

I think that all that matters is if your son or daughter feels safe, is happy and gets a chance to develop his/her potential.

At the end of the day we all have to decide what suits our own children best.

I am talking to other parents and children in the secondary schools I have in mind as the proof of the pudding is in the eating but at the end of the day each family has to call it as they see it for themselves.


Do your research and don't let so called high 'voluntary contributions' put you off. You cannot be excluded/refused due to inability to pay...


Check out enrolment policies and websites etc and do request to visit the schools you have in mind.

Good luck with the process


Keep your options open

jjg

i finished in scoil carmel in 2007. I got a good leaving cert and went on to study in ucc, where i'm in my final year now. My class in college has people who went to comp, colaiste and laurel hill english school.i know people who went to all the secondary schools in limerick...

i'd have to say if i could have my time back i'd go to the comp definitely..followed by castletroy.. i wouldn't like colaiste, a lot of the colaiste girls i know can be a bit snobby but i'm sure there are loads of nice girls there,just not a few i know.. scoil carmel was a great laugh, i loved it there, but i'd say its getting worse by the year..there are always some nice girls there but definitely not the best academically, and sports teams etc aren't great..there are a lot of good teachers there though.. i'd go with the english laurel hill though if you were only choosing from an all girls school in limerick

Taceom

jjg wrote: »

i finished in scoil carmel in 2007. I got a good leaving cert and went on to study in ucc, where i'm in my final year now. My class in college has people who went to comp, colaiste and laurel hill english school.i know people who went to all the secondary schools in limerick...

i'd have to say if i could have my time back i'd go to the comp definitely..followed by castletroy.. i wouldn't like colaiste, a lot of the colaiste girls i know can be a bit snobby but i'm sure there are loads of nice girls there,just not a few i know.. scoil carmel was a great laugh, i loved it there, but i'd say its getting worse by the year..there are always some nice girls there but definitely not the best academically, and sports teams etc aren't great..there are a lot of good teachers there though.. i'd go with the english laurel hill though if you were only choosing from an all girls school in limerick

Thank you very much for that, I really appreciate it.

SinisterDexter

iguana wrote: »

Is actually a very good school and regularly produces the some of the best results in the country.

- Presentation College BTW.

These are the College entries for the last few years: http://www.schooldays.ie/sch/presentation-secondary-school-rollnumber-64250J/reports
This year looks alright on ratio but the last few years weren't so good if you wanted to go to college.

And while I'm at it

Scoil Carmel: http://www.schooldays.ie/sch/scoil-carmel-rollnumber-64300V/reports (those Sit LC / Go to college numbers are bad)

Laurel Hill: http://www.schooldays.ie/sch/laurel-hill-col%C3%A1iste-fcj-rollnumber-64270P/reports

As was said before, best to go with what your Daughter wants as she is the one who will be there for the 6 years, and if she goes to the one you want she may throw that back in your face when she feels like it.
Just my 2 cents.

bonnieprince

My sister was going to go to Laurel Hill a couple of years back but they insisted on a yearly "donation" which my parents could not afford so beware of systems in place in some schools to prevent certain sections of the community from attending.
On a better note Castletroy College has a great rep for a mixed school

Presentation anyone????