Education

SCHOOLS AND EDUCATION

PRIMARY

POST PRIMARY

THIRD LEVEL

As yet we have no personal experiences on the education system, but with Children in mind we have got it all to come. Watch this space and we will tell you how we get on

Primary Education

Most children in Ireland start their first-level education (called "primary school") at the age of four or five years of age. Legally, children can be enrolled at primary school from the age of four upwards and must have started their formal education by the age of six years. The primary education sector in Ireland is made up of primary schools (including non-denominational schools and Irish-speaking schools called ‘gaelscoileanna’), special schools and non-State-aided private primary schools. Education in state primary schools in Ireland is free of charge. However Books, both text books and writing books have to either be rented from the school or purchased. If you have a medical card you can apply for a back to school Grant. You can also get hold of second hand books from the Book Exchange

The school year spans 1 September to the 30th June or there about with Holidays for Christmas and Easter other holidays are at the discretion of the school. The school day is about 5 hours typically 09:20 to 15:00

Primary schools usually have 2 years of infant classes and then classes 1 to 6, this means children leave Primary school a year later than they would in the UK.

Curriculum - The National Council for Curriculum and Assessment has plenty of detail of what the Primary curriculum is supposed to cover. Irish Language is compulsory if you arrive in Ireland before you are eleven years old.

The curriculum covers - Languages, Mathematics, Social, environmental and scientific education, Arts, (including visual arts, music and drama) Physical education, Social, personal and health education .

Unlike the UK In Ireland there are no formal exams so there is less pressure and the focus is on providing an all round education.

Find an Irish primary school near you. You may have to join a waiting list

Secondary or Post Primary Education

The education of students aged 12 to 18 years is catered for in the post-primary sector of education. Attendance at post-primary school is compulsory for students who are under 15 years. This is to be increased to 16 years within the next two years. The vast majority of post-primary schools do not charge fees unless you take up Private education. However, students must pay for books and examination fees. In addition, there are other costs, such as school uniform. There are schemes to help low-income families meet the costs of schooling.

Second-level education is 5 or 6 years long consisting of a three-year Junior Cycle, followed by a two- or three-year Senior Cycle. Students therefore leave when they are 17 or 18 having taken two State exams.

Irish Language is compulsory for children moving to Ireland under 11 years of age.

The Post primary year spans the first week in September to the First week in June, if exams are being taken this will go on until the end of June.

Unlike Primary education Post Primary is very Exam focused, the first one being at the end of the students 3rd year. There is then the option to take a transition year, to act as a bridge between the two by facilitating the smooth transition from the more dependent learning of the Junior Cycle to the more independent self-directed learning required for the Senior Cycle.

Teachers have the chance to design programmes and courses tailored to the needs and interests of students. Parents, the community and local enterprise can bring new kinds of learning opportunities to the students. Students get a chance to sample a wide range of subject areas and can make more informed choices about the kind of Leaving Certificate programme they want to follow after the Transition Year.

Students may choose from 3 different Leaving Certificate programmes. They can take the traditional Leaving Certificate or they can choose from the Leaving Certificate Vocational Programme or the Leaving Certificate Applied Programme, both of which focus on a student's more practical and technical abilities

Third Level Education

Third-level education can be divided into two sections - further education and training and higher education and training. Further education and training is education and training that lies between post-primary level and higher education. Higher education and training is provided chiefly in universities and Colleges of Technology or equivalent bodies.

Students generally qualify with a National Certificate or Diploma, although Degree courses are also available in some colleges.

Most undergraduate students attending publicly funded third-level education courses do not have to pay fees, unlike the UK

In order to qualify for "free fees":

you must be an Irish national or a national of another EU member state and
you must have been living in the EU for at least 3 of the 5 years before starting your course and
you must be undertaking an undergraduate course of at least 2 years duration and
you must not have a previous qualification to the same level and
you must not be repeating the year.

The undergraduate courses for which the free fees arrangements apply are courses in

universities
Institutes of Technology
teacher training colleges
National College of Ireland
A number of religious education institutions

The National University of Ireland (NUI), which is the umbrella university covering

The NUI also has 3 recognised colleges. These are the National College of Art and Design, the Royal College of Surgeons and St. Angela's College of Education.

There are also Various Institutes of Technology and Regional Technical Colleges

Dublin, Cork, Waterford, Tralee, Dundalk, Athlone, Galway, Sligo, Letterkenny, Limerick, Castlebar and Carlow. These colleges run courses in Engineering, Computing, Science, Business, Catering and a wide range of other areas.