Schools in Ireland

Hyphy

Hullo,

My husband and I are looking to relocate somewhere in the EU after we finish our degrees in the spring of 2016. He is Dead Set on Ireland. We have family roots there and we are both excited by the prospect of living in a country so steeped in history.

My main concern are the schools. I am very daunted by what I read about parents having to drive 20k just to find a school that would take their students. In the US we go to schools determined by our location, and public schools are all non-religious. It seems to be quite different in Ireland. I keep seeing things about parents with infants signing up for schools already and I almost feel like I won't be able to get my girl into school by the time we get there. She will be 4, maybe even 5 by the time we would relocate.

We may not even end up in Ireland, but I want to know if I will even have a chance at getting my child into a school if we do!

Moonbeam

you might have better replies on the primary school forum,let me know if you want me to move it.


Most public schools here are catholic but take all religions,there are also educate together schools which are multi denominational.
It really depends on where you live,where I live if you do not want your daughter going to an all girls catholic school you need their names down in the 1st few months.
A few miles up the road there is a lovely mixed primary school that we could have got in to last minute and the irish school that we do go to 10km away that we also got in to relatively late.

Hyphy

Oh! I had no idea there was a primary schools forum. I just searched for "schools" and it didn't pop up. We would most likely be living in Dublin, because that seems to be where most of the jobs are for our field. We also don't want to have to own a car if we can avoid it, so we will just have to see.

I can go ahead and copy/paste this post to that forum, hopefully I can find it! Thanks!

Moonbeam

I moved it for you:)

Hyphy

So did I! Now there are two. I will delete the other one. Thank you for moving it for me!

daviecronin

Hyphy wrote: »

So did I! Now there are two. I will delete the other one. Thank you for moving it for me!

Hello well Ireland is a great choice since I live there and love it. I went to a pre school for two years and then primary school for 6. I think it is usually five people start 1st class, and I am now in my 4th year of secondary school with leaves me with three years left. I am now in a Private school in Cork. I wasnt in a primary school for pre and primary school. The school I am going to is not crazy money a year and reduces towards the end. I live in a town of about 16000 people and there is loads of primary schools and secondary schools. I never hear of people driving 20 km to school out of their way. Hope it works out.

Hyphy

Thanks, davie! That is good to know. It is interesting to see the differences between schools in Ireland vs the US. We have "middle school" here instead of just primary and secondary. We will most likely end up in either Dublin or Cork, so it is good to know we have inexpensive private school options. Although I am not too sure what the definition of "not crazy money" is . We might have better luck with a private primary since she won't be eligible to sign up for a school until right before she would start.

byhookorbycrook

There are very few private primary schools in Ireland and they tend to have long waiting lists. Most primary schools in Ireland are not fee paying. Children can start in primary from age 4 up but many schools prefer them to be closer to five.

Moonbeam

http://www.schooldays.ie/primary-schools-in-ireland/primary-independent-primary there is a list of them.
Most people jsut send their kids to the local school though:)

daviecronin

Hyphy wrote: »

Thanks, davie! That is good to know. It is interesting to see the differences between schools in Ireland vs the US. We have "middle school" here instead of just primary and secondary. We will most likely end up in either Dublin or Cork, so it is good to know we have inexpensive private school options. Although I am not too sure what the definition of "not crazy money" is . We might have better luck with a private primary since she won't be eligible to sign up for a school until right before she would start.

The secondary school im in have a primary school and a pre school. If you get into the primary school you have a definite position in the secondary school. Its a really good school. Having that school name on your cv will be such a benefit. I know its corrupt, but thats life. You can pay monthly in my school but it adds on to 3 grand a year which is A LOT cheaper than others.

Hyphy

Thee grand a year is so much cheaper than almost any private school in the US. My husband will be much more willing to pay that amount if we decide to go with a private school. We will just have to do a lot of research on schools in our area and hope we can get our Daughter in a really good school! ^_^

huskerdu

Hyphy wrote: »

Thee grand a year is so much cheaper than almost any private school in the US. My husband will be much more willing to pay that amount if we decide to go with a private school. We will just have to do a lot of research on schools in our area and hope we can get our Daughter in a really good school! ^_^

That is true, but value for money is what you are looking for.
As has been said, there are very few private primary schools in Ireland, and they are not necessarily any better than the national schools (non-fee paying). Most of the €3K goes to pay the teachers and provide basic facilities.


Find out where you are going to live / work.
Get a list of all the local schools and research them.
Choose the best school for you and your child.

Moonbeam

usually they have lower pupil to teach ratios which. The official pupil to teacher ratio is 28:1 for now and what you often see is 31/32 in the younger classes and less in the higher classes as kids leave.

daviecronin

huskerdu wrote: »

That is true, but value for money is what you are looking for.
As has been said, there are very few private primary schools in Ireland, and they are not necessarily any better than the national schools (non-fee paying). Most of the €3K goes to pay the teachers and provide basic facilities.


Find out where you are going to live / work.
Get a list of all the local schools and research them.
Choose the best school for you and your child.

None of the money goes to the teachers. The teachers are still paid by the government.

huskerdu

daviecronin wrote: »

None of the money goes to the teachers. The teachers are still paid by the government.

that is true in fee paying sceondary schools but Not in fee paying primary schools.

daviecronin

huskerdu wrote: »

that is true in fee paying sceondary schools but Not in fee paying primary schools.

Oh right never knew that. I think though unfortunately now the only way to go if private schools. Your daughter will have more opportunities available to her in the future and it will be easier for her to get a job.

huskerdu

daviecronin wrote: »

Oh right never knew that. I think though unfortunately now the only way to go if private schools. Your daughter will have more opportunities available to her in the future and it will be easier for her to get a job.

Personally, I disagree ( a lot) with your opinion that a fee paying school automatically increases job opportunities.

byhookorbycrook

daviecronin wrote: »

The secondary school im in have a primary school and a pre school. If you get into the primary school you have a definite position in the secondary school. Its a really good school. Having that school name on your cv will be such a benefit. I know its corrupt, but thats life. You can pay monthly in my school but it adds on to 3 grand a year which is A LOT cheaper than others.

I am amused that you think it is of benefit to have the primary "school name on your cv." Personally, I'd prefer to have the best candidate for the job and not take someone just because they attended some primary school above another.

daviecronin

byhookorbycrook wrote: »

I am amused that you think it is of benefit to have the primary "school name on your cv." Personally, I'd prefer to have the best candidate for the job and not take someone just because they attended some primary school above another.

I mean though lets face it though because in this time, where trust is a big issue someone who went to a private i think has a better chance.

Moonbeam

I was private schooled for secondary and it does open up networking opportunities and you do benefit from the smaller classes butt hat is where it ends.

Mooby

Moonbeam wrote: »

I was private schooled for secondary and it does open up networking opportunities and you do benefit from the smaller classes butt hat is where it ends.

I agree, Moonbeam. Private schooling does open up networking opportunities and that can be quite important.

huskerdu

Mooby wrote: »

I agree, Moonbeam. Private schooling does open up networking opportunities and that can be quite important.

Only in backward looking areas of the economy. If you have ambitions to work in technology, or any other global industry, no-one cares where you went to school.

Hyphy

Seems like the private school/public school debate is the same everywhere. As long as I can find a good school near to where we end up living, I will be happy. I hadn't considered private schools at all because I had always assumed they were going to be too expensive. While the school system is pretty different than the one I grew up in, it seems a bit less intimidating now that I have been given some first hand observations. Thank you!

spurious

I know a number of criminal gents whose children attend private schools. All it says to me is that someone could afford it, however they got the money.

Moonbeam

private schools here receive state funding and as a result are alot cheaper then the UK or US.