Schools in west side of Galway City

Jelly Fairy

Hi all,

I am new to Boards.ie. My family will be moving to Galway city next year and as I am not familiar with the city wondered if any of you could recommend a primary school.

I am interested to know more about Scoil Ide, Bushypark and St. Joseph's in Boleybeg. I have two daughters. The eldest will be starting primary school in 2012. I believe there are no places in Knocknacarra primary school as a friend's children go there. I have put their names down and want to get advice before putting their names down anywhere else.

Also any other suggestions of schools are welcome.

Any advice would be grately appreciated.

Thanks a million

Jelly Fairy

biko

Scoil Ide is very good and will give you a chance to move them to Salerno, also supposed to be very good.

Jelly Fairy

Thanks for the reply Biko.

Do you have children going there yourself?

Is Salerno an all girls or co-ed school?

Jelly Fairy

biko

I don't no but a friend has. Yeah both schools are all girls.
I know people that used to go to Salerno and they rave about it.

gaeilgegrinds1

I wouldn't rave about Salerno. It has a good reputation because they get good grades, that's primarily down to grinds. I used give enough to know! Also, terrible bullying problem there. I'd personally prefer my daughters more grounded and in the real world. I've worked in three schools in Galway and am from Galway. My no.1 is Coláiste na Coirbe, I've my children down for there. We're big into Irish though so mightn't float everyone's boat.
Other than that The Jes is good but different and Taylors for girls. Depending on the child Galway Community College suits some, non-denominational and widest range of subjects in the city. Just my opinions, partly based on experience as a student, partly as a teacher.

Paddyfield

Scoil Ide is a well run and very disciplined school. The teaching staff are imbedded with a wonderful ethos. My daughter loves going there. It is a feeder to Salerno secondary school which has been consistently brilliant for decades.

My other child will start there in Sept 2012.

Bushypark also has a good reputation but it was never on my radar when we were choosing a school.

Bolybeg seems to be quite small which has it's own advantages and disadvantages I'm sure.

Cheshire Cat

Another thread here, which links to yet another thread ;-)

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=77747728

Jelly Fairy

Thanks Cheshire Cat and to everyone for your comments.

I had been thinking about Scoil Ide but gaeilgegrinds1 post worries me. I know I am only trying to figure out primary education at this point but obviously I should be thinking about secondary too! I come from a rual area where there wasn't any choice in where you went to primary or secondary so this is giving me a headache!

If one does not want to go down the gaelscoil route what does one do!

I am assuming if I send the children to Scoil ide that the obvious option for secondary is Salerno if scoil ide is a feeder school? If there is bullying or snobbery issues then this would be a no no for me. I had only ever heard positive things about Salerno. I would have worries sending the girls to Soil Ide and then sending them to a different secondary school to were their friends would be going.

It looks like Bushypark may be the way to go. If any one has any other thoughts or advice I would really appreciate it.

Thanks everyone.

Kitty Dog

<No anti recommendations, read the charter (moderator)>

I also know people working in Bushypark, and it's meant to be a very well run school. The Principal is meant to be good, and it has a good reputation for academics and extra-curricular activities.

I don't have kids myself so can't give first hand accounts of either school, however.

IMightKnow

Is the jes primary an option?

Sponge Bob

That is a Gaelscoil is it not and the OP has inicated a preference otherwise. I heard the the new primary school in Knocknacarra is rather good quite recently. No problem getting in there.

Bushypark is worth a try if they are not going into junior infants where entry is difficult. Places become available as kids change school or emigrate.

Seaneh

gaeilgegrinds1 wrote: »

I wouldn't rave about Salerno. It has a good reputation because they get good grades, that's primarily down to grinds. I used give enough to know! Also, terrible bullying problem there. I'd personally prefer my daughters more grounded and in the real world. I've worked in three schools in Galway and am from Galway. My no.1 is Coláiste na Coirbe, I've my children down for there. We're big into Irish though so mightn't float everyone's boat.
Other than that The Jes is good but different and Taylors for girls. Depending on the child Galway Community College suits some, non-denominational and widest range of subjects in the city. Just my opinions, partly based on experience as a student, partly as a teacher.

From the kids I have interacted with over the last 8 months from various secondary schools in the city, the kids from Coláiste na Coirbe were by far the most mature and intelligent as a whole. They were all extremely grounded and mannerly and perfectly able to have a conversation.

If I have kids while living in this city they will attden Coláiste na Coirbe, fact.

Paddyfield

Jelly Fairy wrote: »

Thanks Cheshire Cat and to everyone for your comments.

I had been thinking about Scoil Ide but gaeilgegrinds1 post worries me. I know I am only trying to figure out primary education at this point but obviously I should be thinking about secondary too! I come from a rual area where there wasn't any choice in where you went to primary or secondary so this is giving me a headache!

If one does not want to go down the gaelscoil route what does one do!

I am assuming if I send the children to Scoil ide that the obvious option for secondary is Salerno if scoil ide is a feeder school? If there is bullying or snobbery issues then this would be a no no for me. I had only ever heard positive things about Salerno. I would have worries sending the girls to Soil Ide and then sending them to a different secondary school to were their friends would be going.

It looks like Bushypark may be the way to go. If any one has any other thoughts or advice I would really appreciate it.

Thanks everyone.

Scoil Ide is not a Gael Scoil.

My sister went to Scoil Ide until sixth class and didn't go to Salerno. My family moved home and she went to Dominican Convent Taylors Hill purely for geographical/convenience purposes (my mum didn't have a car back in the 70's). That same sister sent her daughter to Scoil Ide and then Salerno.

Both mother and daughter went on to university, were good as sports and turned out to be fine people.

I have only ONCE heard of bullying in Salerno.

That said, Bushypark has a good reputation and I am sure your girls will have a positive experience there.

Jelly Fairy

Thank you so much for your advice Paddyfield. With not being from Galway I have no idea about schools in the area and had just assumed if we moved into the Knocknacarra area they would go to the school there.

I think the best thing is to make appointments to visit the schools in the coming weeks and make a decision based on that.

Thanks to everyone for their opinions and for responding to my query. Being new to the site it is great to get so many responses. Hopefully I can be of help to others in the future.

Best wishes

Jelly Fairy

snubbleste

Don't your kids have to go to a school in the catchment area(parish) where you live and if they are full, then you go to the next geographically available?
Was this not the case at some point?

Paddyfield

snubbleste wrote: »

Don't your kids have to go to a school in the catchment area(parish) where you live and if they are full, then you go to the next geographically available?
Was this not the case at some point?

If he school reaches a capacity, they will generally observe the following rules:

1/ Child has a sibling in the school already
2/ Child is from the parish
3/ Parent is a past pupil
4/ Child is a son/daughter of a member of staff (teacher)

After that, it's a lottery.

gaeilgegrinds1

Not necessarily in that order, all our kids get into our school if it's what we want.

Mrs OBumble

snubbleste wrote: »

Don't your kids have to go to a school in the catchment area(parish) where you live and if they are full, then you go to the next geographically available?
Was this not the case at some point?

It's not the case now: Irish schools do not have mandated catchment areas, although some have set up their own. Neither do they have to enrol any child that they don't want to enrol.

I don't know much about the past, but I seriously doubt it was ever any different (remembering that secondary education wasn't even compulsory until the last 1960s.)

gaeilgegrinds1 wrote: »

Not necessarily in that order, all our kids get into our school if it's what we want.

Which of course raises interesting questions about who counts as "our kids", and who is not "ours".

byhookorbycrook

Never was in primary anyhow.

gaeilgegrinds1

By ours I meant our children, children of the teachers. I don't get your comment, maybe I'm having a thick day!

galway23

Went to Scoil Íde and loved it, it was brilliant. Went on to Salerno and didn't think much of it.

Salerno is a funny one really because, in my experience at least, for every person I hear saying its not very good I hear someone else saying its amazing.

Paddyfield

JustMary wrote: »

Which of course raises interesting questions about who counts as "our kids", and who is not "ours".

gaeilgegrinds1 wrote: »

By ours I meant our children, children of the teachers. I don't get your comment, maybe I'm having a thick day!

I can only assume that gaeilgegrinds1 is a teacher.

gaeilgegrinds1

I teach and also work with the D.E.B. I still don't get that comment though, what else could I have meant?

Paddyfield

Moving slightly off topic, but Colaiste Einde has emerged as an excellent school. It grossly underachieved when I went there and was always in the shadow of the Bish and the Jes most notably in sport. Today, it is a large mixed school with excellent facilities and a brilliant principal.

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Paddyfield wrote: »

Moving slightly off topic, but Colaiste Einde has emerged as an excellent school. It grossly underachieved when I went there and was always in the shadow of the Bish and the Jes most notably in sport. Today, it is a large mixed school with excellent facilities and a brilliant principal.

I would have to disagree with this comment regarding Enda's. I would recommend Bushypark NS, Scoil Róis and Scoil Íde. Secondary school-wise i would say either Taylor's or Salerno.

Iwannahurl

Scoil Ide seems to be a very nice, welcoming school.

No hope of getting into Knocknacarra Primary (St John the Apostle) at this stage, TTBOMK.

I believe Boleybeg is good also, athough a bit out of the way.

I know nothing about Bushy Park.

Is Gaelscoil Mhic Amhlaigh completely out of the question at this point in time?

Sponge Bob

Gaelscoil Mhic is jammers, one of the hardest schools to get into in all of Galway. You need to have your children in the associated Naoíscoil from around 1 years old to have a chance I believe.