INDEPENDENT & PRIVATE SCHOOLS IN IRELAND – SCHOOLS B

The nation’s oldest independent schools typically provided boarding facilities to the children of the Protestant ascendancy families who were unable to afford to send their children to the famous public schools of England. These schools were established to welcome pupils from Protestant minorities across the country where local school provision was considered unsuitable, where it even existed. As Ireland strived towards Catholic emancipation and, ultimately, independence, the Protestant upper classes reduced in number and so many of the boarding schools that catered to them found themselves upon hard times with a great number of them no longer in existence. However, the emergence of a rising Catholic middle class and the increasing dominance of the Catholic church marked a significant change in direction in the Victorian era with many Catholic religious orders establishing boarding schools to cater for a new class of Catholic professionals in order to prepare their children as leaders.

This history has resulted in a curious dichotomy in modern Irish education where the better known private schools in Ireland are undoubtedly the big Catholic boarding schools (or those that were historically boarding), in particular Leinster’s Super Seven schools (Belvedere College, Blackrock College, Castleknock College, Clongowes Wood College, Terenure College) and Mount Anville or the Loreto girls schools. However, amongst Irish protestants and non-Catholics, schools with illustrious histories such as King’s Hospital, Glenstal Abbey, St. Columba’s and Alexandra College might be considered the best alternatives to the great public schools of England. More recently, a coterie of internationally focussed schools has emerged catering for those seeking a more global-oriented education, schools like Sutton Park School and John Scottus being the more famous examples.

Few of Ireland’s private schools cater to children at primary level. In some cases, schools that were once feeders to leading secondaries have become all-through or secondary schools themselves. Those that performed as preparatory schools in the English tradition have found it harder and harder to attract children over recent years, schools such as Headfort and Aravon, once regarded as the top feeders to the better Protestant schools in Ireland and public schools in England have closed. Indeed, this marks a wider trend which has seen a decline in the number of children being sent to boarding school, corresponding with a decline in the number of admissions to religious orders, resulting in less demand for schools and diminished religious orders incapable of continuing to manage such schools. A number of the nation’s top boarding schools have long since opened the doors to day students and many have slowly transitioned into day only, majority day only or have announced proposals to do so. Few all-boarding schools remain today but those that do have noted that they have seen the volumes of inquiries increasing (in part due to concentration of demand).

In recent years, a number of new schools have been established outside of the influence of the state or religious orders. These schools are independent private schools in the truest sense and include a number of international schools, some faith-based schools and so-called “Grinds Schools” which cater to repeating students or those who wish to focus exclusively on exam results (many akin to Sixth Form Colleges in the UK). State-grant funding does not apply to primary level schools that are in the independent sector so prep schools and independent junior schools are also fully private – the vast majority of which are members of the Association of Independent Junior Schools (AIJS).