CLONGOWES WOOD COLLEGE

Clongowes Wood College SJ has developed a reputation for excellence and is, arguably, Ireland’s best-known boarding school internationally. It is one of the last all boarding schools in the country and attracts a student body from across Ireland and globally. Established in 1814 on the site of Castlebrown by the Society of Jesuits, Clongowes prepares boys for entering society as gentlemen in the Jesuit tradition.

ABOUT

Located in a sprawling, leafy rural campus in Co. Kildare on the outskirts of Dublin city, the school is home to approximately 450 boys, all of whom board on a full boarding basis. Clongowes, one of Ireland’s oldest schools, has garnered a reputation for academic and athletic excellence with many of its graduates attending leading universities in Ireland and overseas. The school’s sporting prowess, particularly in rugby union, has seen the school take a number of Leinster Senior Cup rugby trophies and the school is one of the so-called Super Seven – an elite group of the top Catholic schools in Leinster.

As other Catholic boarding schools have closed the doors to their dormitories, Clongowes has seen greater demand than ever and admission is extremely competitive. The school has crafted a very strong global reputation, benchmarking against the leading public schools and their peers in the UK and further afield and, as such, attracts a number of international pupils. As an all-boys, all-boarding school Clongowes has often been called, and is often considered to be “Ireland’s Eton”. Clongowes has historically been one of the preferred school for the sons of the remnants of the Irish nobility and business classes, alongside Castleknock College. The school’s glittering alumni list includes a number of eminent politicians, sports stars and business tycoons.

In keeping with the English public school model, Clongowes operates a house system named for famous personalities associated with the school and the school preserves a catalog of unique traditions and customs. The school traditionally maintained a close relationship with the Jesuit-founded St Stanislaus College, Tullabeg (known as “Tullabeg”), which acted as a preparatory school for both Castleknock and Clongowes.

The school offers a full range of curricular and extra-curricular pursuits, typical of a private boarding school. Whilst the school is legally recognised as a voluntary school (i.e. an independent school in Ireland), the school is fully fee-paying. The schools is non-selective but assesses every applicant and gives priority to Catholic pupils and legacy entrants.

CLICK HERE TO SEE LATEST INSPECTION REPORT

INFORMATION

SCHOOL CREST

FULL NAME

CLONGOWES WOOD COLLEGE SJ

NICKNAME

CLON / CLONGOWES / CWC

CATEGORY

BOARDING SCHOOL
BOYS SCHOOL
FAITH SCHOOL
FEE-PAYING SCHOOL
INDEPENDENT SCHOOL
PRIVATE SCHOOL
VOLUNTARY SCHOOL

ESTABLISHED

1814

GENDER

BOYS

ADMISSIONS

BOARDING

AGES

12 – 18

GRADES

1^ST YEAR – 6^TH YEAR

ENTRANCE CRITERIA

NON-SELECTIVE. PRIORITY GIVEN TO CATHOLIC PUPILS

SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS

IN LINE WITH NATIONAL GUIDELINES

CURRICULUM

IRISH CURRICULUM:
JUNIOR CERTITIFCATE
TRANSITION YEAR PROGRAMME
LEAVING CERTIFICATE

LANGUAGE OF INSTRUCTION

ENGLISH

FAITH / ETHOS

ROMAN CATHOLIC
SOCIETY OF JESUS (JESUIT)

PEDAGOGY / PHILOSOPHY

—

CAMPUS

COUNTRY / RURAL

HOUSES

CO-CURRICULAR

CHOIR
DEBATING
ORCHESTRA

SPORTS

ASSOCIATION FOOTBALL (SOCCER)
ATHLETICS (TRACK & FIELD)
BASKETBALL
CRICKET
CROSS COUNTRY
GAELIC FOOTBALL
HURLING
GOLF
RUGBY UNION
SWIMMING
TENNIS

OPERATOR

SOCIETY OF JESUS

PATRON / VISITOR

—

PRESIDENT

—

HEAD OF SCHOOL

CHRIS LUMB (HEADMASTER)

ENROLLMENT

450 PUPILS

FACULTY

100 STAFF

RATIO

—

AVERAGE CLASS SIZE

—

TUITION FEES

EUR €21,840 PER ANNUM
ADDITIONAL FEES AND CHARGES MAY BE APPLICABLE

SCHOLARSHIPS, BURSARIES & FINANCIAL AID

ALBERTO HURTADO BURSARY PROGAMME (AHP) OFFERING FULL BURSARY SUPPORT TO APPROX. 10% OF PUPILS

ENDOWMENT

—

FEEDER SCHOOLS

ST STANISLAUS COLLEGE, TULLABEG (CLOSED)

LEAVERS DESTINATIONS

TRINITY COLLEGE DUBLIN
UNIVERSITY COLLEGE DUBLIN
RUSSELL GROUP

UNIFORM

NAVY BLUE BLAZER, WHITE SHIRT, COLLEGE TIE AND GREY TROUSERS. UNIFORM NEED NOT BE WORN DURING THE WEEK WITH PUPILS EXPECTED TO DRESS APPROPRIATELY SMART.
SCHOOL UNIFORM AVAILABLE FROM THE COLLEGE SHOP.

SCHOOL TIE

SCHOOL COLOURS

BOAT CLUB COLOURS

—

ACCREDITATIONS, ASSOCIATIONS AND AFFILIATIONS

BSA

CISC

HMC

ISBA

ISC

ATHLETIC CONFERENCES & SPORTS LEAGUES

SUPER SEVEN

RIVAL SCHOOLS

CASTLEKNOCK COLLEGE
GORMANSTON COLLEGE
NEWBRIDGE COLLEGE

SISTER SCHOOLS & PARTNER SCHOOLS

ALOISIUSKOLLEG
BELVEDERE COLLEGE
COLLEGIUM AUGUSTINIANUM GAESDONCK
KOLLEGE ST BLASIEN
ENNISKILLEN ROYAL GRAMMAR SCHOOL (PORTORA ROYAL SCHOOL)
FORDHAM PREPARATORY SCHOOL
PASSY-BUZENVAL
ST ALOYSIUS’ COLLEGE, SYDNEY
SAINT IGNATIUS’ COLLEGE, RIVERVIEW
ST JOSEPH’S COLLEGE, HUNTERS HILL

SCHOOL MOTTO

AETERNA NON CADUCA (THE ETERNAL NOT THE PASSING)

SCHOOL MASCOT

—

SCHOOL SONG

“CLONGOWES WOOD COLLEGE SCHOOL SONG”

SCHOOL PUBLICATION

THE CLONGOWNIAN

ALUMNI ASSOCIATION

OLD CLONGOWNIANS (OCs)

CELEBRATED ALUMNI & FACULTY

AIDAN HEAVEY; BARRY O’CALLAGHAN; BRIAN CARNEY; CHARLES O’CONOR, THE O’CONOR DON; DAVID KEARNEY; DONOGH O’MALLEY; EDMUND DWYER-GRAY; ENOCH LOUIS LOWE; FREDERICK BOLAND; SIR GILBERT LAITHWAITE; GORDON D’ARCYJAMES JOHN SKINNER; JAMES JOYCE; JAMES PATRICK MAHON, THE O’GORMAN-MAHON; JAMES THOMAS PATRICK WALSH; JOHN BRUTON; KEVIN O’HIGGINS; MICHAEL O’HIGGINS; MICHAEL JOSEPH O’RAHILLY, THE O’RAHILLY; MICHAEL O’LEARY; MICHAEL SMURFIT; NICK HEWER; OLIVER ST. JOHN GOGARTY; PATRICK LITTLE; PAUL MCGUINNESS; RICHARD BRUTON; ROB KEARNEY; SIMON COVENEY; TADGH BEIRNE; TED DURCAN; THOMAS CREAN; TOM O’HIGGINS; WILL CONNORS