Primary Schools Athlone

tubos

Just wondering if anybody has any recommendations for a good primary school in Athlone. I am thinking of sending my kids to Cornamaddy but everybody else I know with kids is avoiding that school for certain reasons. Can one school be better than another? If so, has anybody got any opinions as to what the better schools in and around Athlone are?

Zubeneschamali

tubos wrote: »

I am thinking of sending my kids to Cornamaddy but everybody else I know with kids is avoiding that school for certain reasons.

My three kids have all attended Cornamaddy, two are there now, and it's grand.

I'll guess that "everyone else" is avoiding it because of the nearby asylum seekers accomodation and halting site? I try to avoid teaching the kids to be racists, myself.

tubos

Zubeneschamali wrote: »

My three kids have all attended Cornamaddy, two are there now, and it's grand.

I'll guess that "everyone else" is avoiding it because of the nearby asylum seekers accomodation and halting site? I try to avoid teaching the kids to be racists, myself.

Yes that is the reason alright. To me, this is not a problem, in fact i'd rather send my children to a school with a wide range of personalities and cultures. When I moved to Athlone I heard nothing but good things about the school (I also heard that there was to be a brand new school built but that never happened), but all the parents I have spoke to with kids the same age have all said they are not sending their kids there, even though it is quite close.

Zubeneschamali

tubos wrote: »

i'd rather send my children to a school with a wide range of personalities and cultures.

Cornamaddy will suit fine, then. The principal is sound, too. See if you can arrange a chat with him.

Saint_Mel

tubos wrote: »

... I also heard that there was to be a brand new school built but that never happened ...

That was suppose to be school for land swap deal with McEnerny builders (who developed Dromaconn) but they started to go belly up

AckwelFoley

Saint_Mel wrote: »

That was suppose to be school for land swap deal with McEnerny builders (who developed Dromaconn) but they started to go belly up

There is some deal in the pipeline for the school yet, Its not a dead duck afaik. I heard it from a pretty good source

beggars_bush

what about Coosan?
plenty of other schools around

tubos

I'm sure I'll check all the nearby schools out, Cornamaddy is closest though, I can't imagine myself driving past the closest school every morning bringing my kid to a school another few miles away! To be honest the main thing turning me off Cornamaddy is the fact that there are a number of prefabs used, and from my own experience as a kid spending every day in an old prefab wasn't nice! But I'll have a nose some day and see for myself what it's like. I was hoping that there would be a brand new school there by the time I sent my kid, hopefully it's still in the pipeline as snyper suggested.

Saint_Mel

Ballinahowan and Ardnagrath are not a million miles away either, both have smaller class sizes etc which can be a help.

Sunny Dayz

Clonbonny NS isn't far away from Cornamaddy - it's just down the road from Michael Moore's garage. It's nice that it's a rural school but only a few mins from town. My son is in school there and he likes it. The classes are smaller compared to in town so the kids get more attention and each teacher has one or two classes in her room.

Zubeneschamali

tubos wrote: »

I was hoping that there would be a brand new school there by the time I sent my kid, hopefully it's still in the pipeline as snyper suggested.

Don't hold your breath.

veryangryman

For what its worth, i recommend Tubberclair near Glassan

Yes its a long drive/bus ride in but i myself spent a year there in 6th class. As a kid that time, i recall the booksmarts of the kids being 10 times that of the previous primary i had been in (Marist Brothers/St Marys Primary as it is now). Possibly could be the mixed classes i guess.

If i was a parent now, id also strongly consider sending kids there. Not only does the school give them a good education on all fronts, it is also an extra 2 hours (with the bus service) that you wont have to pay for creches or babysitters if your working past 3 or 4.

Ask around - im sure many will agree - not yet heard a bad word said about the school.

Good luck with it

Saint_Mel

Forgot about Clonbunny & Tubberclair

Do Tubberclair still run a 7th class?

tubos

Does anybody have kids attending the Gael scoil down by the sports centre? I always assumed that I wouldn't be able to send my kids there as we are not Irish speaking (well I should have a leaving certs standard). But, apparently it is open to everybody. I would like my kids to be fluent in Irish, but is it hard for kids who are not native Irish speakers to adapt to speaking Irish in a gael scoil?

Jo King

Children learn languages very quickly. Some children of east European parents have learned Irish fluently in a short time despite the parents not having a syllable.