The Cost of a Free Education in NCD

CorsendonkX

Hot topic of the day!

Just a Vox pop, not an attack on any specific schools in NCD so lets try keeping the thread to details rather than accusations.

Every school has its own unique circumstances but a thread to see the variation between schools in NCD and also how schools are trying to reduce costs in these difficult times for parents might be of interest.


Uniform Cost and Requirements

• Has the school a specific agent where you have to purchase the school jumper/blazer from or can you source your own?
• Cost?
• Do you need to have a crest on the gym tracksuit or can you buy a generic tracksuit?
• Have you to purchase specific shoes?(A school in Navan has specified a 100 euro shoe according to Newstalk)

Books

• Cost?
• Does the school have a Book Lend scheme in place?
• Are Digital Books reducing your costs?
• Does your school want you to purchase an Ipad?

"Volunteer" Contribution

• How much?
• Can you pay in installments?
• Are you provided with a breakdown of school finances and where the contribution is spent?

Miscellaneous Costs i.e Photocopier and other Classroom Material Costs

• Any other costs that your school asks you to cover?

LeoB

Dont have the exact figures but here is what it costs us approximately, however we deal with 3 different schools
Rush N.S and St. Josephs both in Rush and St. Itas in Drogheda

Rush N.S has a school supplier in Swords. St. Josephs get their jumpers through a shop in Skerries. However shirts & shoes can come from Dunnes, Guineys or Harrods:D. Approx €200 & €240 covers Rush N.S, books, uniform and stationary. St Josephs have school jacket but not sure of price.

Both Rush schools have a lending/rental scheme in place

Not digital yet but we would purchase 2 iPads tomorrow. Spoke to 3 people over the summer and they said it was cheaper and no big heavy bag to carry...

Contribution is €100 or €120 iirc. It can be paid in installments
We think it is ok and a very fair contribution as both are fairly good schools and our children get good support.

However 1st year in secondary was expensive between books, stationary and other costs we estimate we were close to €1,000 probably the same now for 5th year

St. Itas in Drogheda (special school) is a great school and one we could learn a bit from. The school while highly specialised offers a full and diverse curriculum.

• School jacket with crest for St. Itas is €15 The Rush jacket very similar is €40. We were surprised at difference

• €100 contribution can be paid in installments and if principle thinks it may cause difficulties he will suspend the fee.

• All stationary supplied by school this is so every child has the same.

St. Itas do a good bit of fundraising and parents expected to help with this. Some will contribute and others will contribute and help .... We will be told early in the year what is needed and the aim will be to raise the funds to cover the costs. S & L therapist was funded for the last year by fundraising from parents.

Eoineo

With respect Corsendonk, how long is a piece of string?

Did you look at the Barnados research?

The Hill Billy

Uniform Cost and Requirements

• Has the school a specific agent where you have to purchase the school jumper/blazer from or can you source your own? Specific agent, but uniform is not compulsory
• Cost? Approx €60 per child
• Do you need to have a crest on the gym tracksuit or can you buy a generic tracksuit? Tracksuit is the uniform
• Have you to purchase specific shoes?(A school in Navan has specified a 100 euro shoe according to Newstalk) No

Books

• Cost? Will know next week€180 (2 sets of books)
• Does the school have a Book Lend scheme in place? Not that I am aware of
• Are Digital Books reducing your costs? Not applicable
• Does your school want you to purchase an Ipad? No

"Volunteer" Contribution

• How much? €40 (I think)
• Can you pay in installments? Don't know
• Are you provided with a breakdown of school finances and where the contribution is spent? Don't know

Miscellaneous Costs i.e Photocopier and other Classroom Material Costs

• Any other costs that your school asks you to cover? Not that I am aware of

CorsendonkX

Eoineo wrote: »

With respect Corsendonk, how long is a piece of string?

It's a Vox Pop not a scientific survey. Of course if your child is going to one of the more prestigious NCD schools you will have extra costs above the norm such as the School Ski Trip to Norway. Barnados Survey only deals with the direct cost, grinds or cram school costs are not covered. A child education is a very emotive topic so many parents will spend any amount to ensure that their kids have the best education they can provide.

Eoineo wrote: »

Did you look at the Barnados research?

Yes

http://www.barnardos.ie/assets/files/Advocacy/2013SchoolCosts/2013%20School%20Costs%20Survey%20Briefing.pdf
http://www.barnardos.ie/what-we-do/campaign-and-lobby/our-recent-work/infographic-school-costs-survey-2013.html

The Hill Billy

And how much are your school costs?

CorsendonkX

The Hill Billy wrote: »

And how much are your school costs?

I don't go to school in NCD.....

The Hill Billy

I thought that given your interest, you were probably seeking comparisons for any kids that you may have that go to school locally.

Eoineo

For what it's worth I'd be familiar with the top, middle & both ranges of school costs in NCD for various reasons. This year will be the first year of primary school for one of our children.
We will buy generic uniform although there is a designated supplier, we'll sew on the crest. There are no required type of shoes however as we walk 7km per day to get to/from school I'll be investing in shoe leather! We'll benefit from a book rental scheme and have a contribution (compulsory fee & suggested) which comes to less than €70 for the year. This is considerably less than we expected and less than the average across the country. The school is not "DEIS" either.

LeoB

What do we expect to pay? Depending on what you want from the vox pop. We would have no problem paying more for education, its important to us all we give our kids every chance but it aint the end of the world if they dont get straight A's. Look at the amount of mature students we now have.

What I have seen it is far more important to work with the child irrespective of where they go to school. Most of us have seen the good and bad sides of various schools in NCD and further afield. There will be kids in the next few weeks who will get better results than students who have had a lot of grinds. If the child gets support and a decent structure they will perform better from what I see. Our teenage boy goes to St. Josephs and we feel he gets excellent support from the teachers, some better than others. He had a good attitude towards the school which helps.

I see kids heading off to some expensive schools and the parents still need to spend serious money on grinds. So what does that tell us if we do pay fee's?