Living
Education
The Irish education system is generally very good. Free education is available in state primary and post-primary schools, and all children living in Ireland can avail of this. There are also a number of private, fee-paying schools and some minority religions run specialist schools.
The quality of private schools can vary. Some are still run by religious groups, others are completely non-denominational. Some specialist private schools only cater for students in their final year or two of secondary school, and the focus is solely on exam subjects and achieving good results.
Each school has an enrolment policy drafted by their Board of Management, which is available on request (some schools make them available for downloading on their websites). In order to enrol your child in a school, you must produce a birth or adoption certificate. Although in theory you can enrol your child in the school of your choice, in practice there may be issues with availability, especially in the newer, heavily populated residential areas in which facilities haven’t quite caught up with demand. If you need to enrol your child in the middle of a school year, every effort will be made to accommodate them in their local school if possible. It is a good idea to apply to several schools as far in advance as possible to ensure your child has a place in at least one of them. Most schools will give priority to prospective pupils who have a family association with the school (older siblings attending, a parent working there, a parent who was educated there, etc.), and to children living in that area. Class sizes can range from 20 pupils to 30 and over.
Many secondary schools have affiliations with primary schools, sometimes sharing a campus or operating under the same name and shared facilities. These secondary schools tend to give priority to children coming from the affiliated primary school, so it is a good idea to research the enrolment policy of your preferred secondary school as early as possible.
It is compulsory for children to attend school from age 6, but it is more usual for Irish children to start at the age of 4 or 5. They spend eight years in primary education and usually five or six in secondary education, and the normal school-leaving age is 17 or 18.
The primary school curriculum focuses on development rather than scholastic achievement, and there is no standard exam taken at the end of primary school.
The secondary school curriculum includes English, Irish and Maths as compulsory subjects, and a variety of optional subjects focusing on foreign languages, science and business and art. Students take the Junior Certificate examination in their third year of secondary school, usually aged 15, and the Leaving Certificate examination at the end of their final year, aged 17 or 18. Copies of subject curricula are available from the Government Publications Office on Molesworth Street, Dublin 2, for about €3 each.
The quality of private schools can vary. Some are still run by religious groups, others are completely non-denominational. Some specialist private schools only cater for students in their final year or two of secondary school, and the focus is solely on exam subjects and achieving good results.
Each school has an enrolment policy drafted by their Board of Management, which is available on request (some schools make them available for downloading on their websites). In order to enrol your child in a school, you must produce a birth or adoption certificate. Although in theory you can enrol your child in the school of your choice, in practice there may be issues with availability, especially in the newer, heavily populated residential areas in which facilities haven’t quite caught up with demand. If you need to enrol your child in the middle of a school year, every effort will be made to accommodate them in their local school if possible. It is a good idea to apply to several schools as far in advance as possible to ensure your child has a place in at least one of them. Most schools will give priority to prospective pupils who have a family association with the school (older siblings attending, a parent working there, a parent who was educated there, etc.), and to children living in that area. Class sizes can range from 20 pupils to 30 and over.
Many secondary schools have affiliations with primary schools, sometimes sharing a campus or operating under the same name and shared facilities. These secondary schools tend to give priority to children coming from the affiliated primary school, so it is a good idea to research the enrolment policy of your preferred secondary school as early as possible.
It is compulsory for children to attend school from age 6, but it is more usual for Irish children to start at the age of 4 or 5. They spend eight years in primary education and usually five or six in secondary education, and the normal school-leaving age is 17 or 18.
The primary school curriculum focuses on development rather than scholastic achievement, and there is no standard exam taken at the end of primary school.
The secondary school curriculum includes English, Irish and Maths as compulsory subjects, and a variety of optional subjects focusing on foreign languages, science and business and art. Students take the Junior Certificate examination in their third year of secondary school, usually aged 15, and the Leaving Certificate examination at the end of their final year, aged 17 or 18. Copies of subject curricula are available from the Government Publications Office on Molesworth Street, Dublin 2, for about €3 each.
