Oranmore school

suzieoc

I'd love some feedback on "Calasanctius College" in Oranmore. I'm thinking of moving there in September, and my son would be ready for secondary the following year. So I'd love any information anyone has about Calasanctius. I don't want to move to Oranmore, and then end up commuting to a school further away. The town of Oranmore seems nice, ( although not sure if there's enough for teenagers to do there?), but my main priority would be how good the school is/ what kind of reputation it has etc. I'm not even all that worried about academics, but more the general feel of the school/ what kind of kids go there/ whether there's many bullying issues etc. Does anyone know anybody that has been to this school and really liked it?
Any info would be really appreciated!
Thanks!

Western501

I don't know too much about the school itself in terms of academic other non-academic stuff, quality of teachers etc
But I am aware that the school in under severe pressure with numbers of planned enrolements for the next 4-5 years. I understood they may well be booked out for the next number of years, but not 100% certain. All of the secondary schools in the area (Galway city & Athenry etc) are also under serious pressure with numbers. There is a new planned new secondary school to be built in Claregalway & it hoped to be open by Sept 2013 - although this is probably going to be just a temp building initially.
I would suggest that you contact all of the secondary schools in the area, so they can give you their definitive position before make decison on where to relocate.

ethernet

It appears to be quite difficult to secure a place in this school of late. As public schools go, it's grand. The old building was completely demolished and rebuilt so facilities are very much improved - bright and airy classrooms, language laboratories, sports hall, basketball courts, access to the astroturf at times. There were around 700 students there in my day (feeling old!) but that must be increasingly rapidly at this stage.

The school has a large catchment area so there are students from rural and more urban areas. Like in every school, there are issues of bullying and unruly behaviour from a handful but, when reported to the right people, expect prompt action.

If you've any more questions/specifics, feel free to ask.

Head The Wall

Thanks there was around 400 in my day, now I feel really really old

suzieoc

Thanks for the info.....good to know about enrollment issues, I'll have to look into that. As far as I know they've changed the enrollment policy for Calasanctius recently, and you can't apply for a place until your kid starts 6th class, so that would be good for us. (Unlike some of the Dublin schools where you can put your name down 6 years before!) But I'll have to check what the priorities are for places given.

And if anyone else has kids currently in the school, and has any feedback as to how they like the school etc., or even Oranmore in general as a place for kids/ teenagers, I'd love to know.
Thanks!

ArtSmart

Oranmore? grand spot. can't think of minuses

deisemum

That's my old school and I've got a number of family members who are former and current pupils. My advise is to look elsewhere. There's a very bad bullying problem in the school and it's not just from other pupils.

This may be of interest for you

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056210241

Redhairedguy

ethernet wrote: »

The old building was completely demolished and rebuilt so facilities are very much improved

Mine was the final leaving cert year to go through there before it was torn down. Pretty hard to study for your Leaving Cert when jackhammers and builders radios were going on all day.

deisemum wrote: »

There's a very bad bullying problem in the school and it's not just from other pupils.

There's bad bullying problems in every school. Oranmore definitely is not the worst. Calasanctius College has yet to have a teenage suicide because of bullying.

Also, I'm very interested in this not just from other pupils part. Teachers, parents etc? Please elaborate.

suzieoc

Redhairedguy wrote: »

ethernet wrote: »

The old building was completely demolished and rebuilt so facilities are very much improved

Mine was the final leaving cert year to go through there before it was torn down. Pretty hard to study for your Leaving Cert when jackhammers and builders radios were going on all day.

deisemum wrote: »

There's a very bad bullying problem in the school and it's not just from other pupils.

There's bad bullying problems in every school. Oranmore definitely is not the worst. Calasanctius College has yet to have a teenage suicide because of bullying.

Also, I'm very interested in this not just from other pupils part. Teachers, parents etc? Please elaborate.

Yes, I'm curious too what it means that there's bullying at Calasanctius, but not just from other pupils? Most schools have bullying policy's in place, so surely bullying from a teacher (if that is what's implied) wouldn't be tolerated?
Also, I really hope the measure of whether a particular school is suitable for your teenager or not, is not just based on whether there's been a teenage suicide due to bullying. That's really extreme. I know there's a bit of minor bullying in most schools, but generally a school will build up a reputation , and if it becomes known as a school where kids are bullied a lot or mistreated, or not learning a lot, usually you'd get some feedback about this. And vice versa, you generally hear if a particular school has a good name or not. I was just curious if anyone has kids in the school now (you know how things change year by year depending on who the principle is, teachers etc.), and what the general atmosphere there is. Are kids happy/ comfortable there.......if there was another kid their age considering the school would they happily recommend it. That kind of thing! And what is Oranmore like as a place to live for the teenage scene!
Thanks!

Tiramisu

There is / was quite a lot of bullying going on in Oranmore, just like any other school but from my experience a blind eye is turned to it all. One of my children was bullied through his entire time there, teachers were aware of it and nothing was done about it. There was a change of principal last year so maybe things have changed. There was one teacher in particular who was a dreadful bully i.e , cursing, name calling, threatening, making fun of children, threw a school bag out a window, rumoured to have hit a student a few years ago, it was well know that this person was a bully but nothing was done about it. Thankfully this person has retired.

As for things to do for teenagers in the village, in my experience there is absolutely nothing for teenagers to do if they are not into sport.

deisemum

Tiramisu wrote: »

There is / was quite a lot of bullying going on in Oranmore, just like any other school but from my experience a blind eye is turned to it all. One of my children was bullied through his entire time there, teachers were aware of it and nothing was done about it. There was a change of principal last year so maybe things have changed. There was one teacher in particular who was a dreadful bully i.e , cursing, name calling, threatening, making fun of children, threw a school bag out a window, rumoured to have hit a student a few years ago, it was well know that this person was a bully but nothing was done about it. Thankfully this person has retired.

As for things to do for teenagers in the village, in my experience there is absolutely nothing for teenagers to do if they are not into sport.

That teacher is not the only bully teacher in the school and I clearly remember the teacher you refer to punch a leaving cert boy in my class and split his mouth open, nothing was done about it. The change of principal hasn't improved things as there's another bully teacher in a senior enough position who's a nasty piece of work.

As for having anti-bullying policies in schools well they're worthless if they're not followed and they certainly are not followed in some schools. I know parents who've taken their children out of calasanctius college and they're getting on much better in other schools.

suzieoc

Wow, that doesn't sound good.....it's unbelievable..... you'd be worried about bullying amongst teenagers, but it still happens from teachers? I thought that was gone with the dark ages! Well, if anyone else has any other input on Calasanctius I'd still appreciate it.....just want to get comments from all sides and see if bullying is a big problem there and how prevalent it is if that's the case. It seems like such a nice school (appearances can be deceiving I suppose), and Oranmore seems like such a nice village, and I've heard rave reviews about the Oranmore boys school, so it's disappointing to hear bad reviews about Calasanctius.
Any other recommendations for mixed secondary schools in Galway? I prefer the mixed schools rather than all boys/ girls.
Thanks for all the info so far!

deisemum

It hasn't had a good reputation in a long time, that's if it ever had in the first place, my mother sent my younger siblings into the city and it was a positive move.

My own children go to a much bigger single sexed secondary school and there isn't the same level of bullying in the school as there is in Oranmore but then again the principal runs a tight ship and has zero tolerance for it. I believe the calibre of a principal is very important.

I have no problem standing over anything I've posted on this thread especially about the boy being punched in the face as there was a classroom full of witnesses and it's not something one forgets. There's a hell of a lot more I could post.

ch252

I finished there in the last 3 years and I really don't know where this is coming from. I know the teacher you're referring to and as far as I saw he was just well able to answer back to a student if they were cheeky, never heard of any sort of assault as you spoke of? I can also assure that the school does have an adequate anti-bullying policy and staff never hesitated to use it when I was there.
I can count on my fingers the amount of serious cases of bullying I witnessed over my 5 years there and they were all treated very seriously and investigated very thoroughly.

suzieoc

Thanks for all the replies. It's a bit confusing though, hearing from some that Calasanctius has never really had a great reputation, and then from others that's it's a grand school. Doesn't exactly boost my confidence in the school! But I still really like the town of Oranmore and would like to give it a go. Fingers crossed there are more people out there with positive stories about the school, and Oranmore town itself, but I'd still be interested to hear anyone else's opinion.
Thanks!

GalwayGirl2012

I am a student currently in my 6th year in Calasanctius College in Oranmore and although I know very well that the school is not perfect, overall it is a great school. Yes there are "bullying" issues in the school unfortunately that is life and no matter where any student goes to school there will be some form of bullying present. The majority of teachers in the school are approachable and really care about their students.Bullying in any form student-student, teacher-student is taken very seriously in our school and we have a new vice-principal who is excellent. She really can get the balance between showing authority and getting along with students. I can admit there are a few teachers in our school that are defiantly not fit to work with people at all never mind teach but im sure everyone knows at least one person in life like that and understand that you have to bite the bullet and respect them either way. This school prepares you for the real world as it challenges so many aspects of developing students from dealing with people, character building, planning, encouraging talents as well as academically helping. We have a great ethos in Calasanctius and I will be extremely sad upon my departure next June.

mrsweebri

I'm living locally with no direct experience of the school - just wanted to say I love the kids at calasanctius. They are so well mannered and helpful when out and about in their uniforms. That counts for something!

K.C

Hello,

I dont know anything about the school but I moved to Oranmore 6 months ago from Meath. I love Oranmore. Very friendly people, great facilities etc... Enjoying it even more now that we have great weather, some lovely walks around, Renville park etc.
But its called the wet west for a reason. Only drawback.
Overall a very nice place.

deisemum

mrsweebri wrote: »

I'm living locally with no direct experience of the school - just wanted to say I love the kids at calasanctius. They are so well mannered and helpful when out and about in their uniforms. That counts for something!

Apparently a large number of pupils just walked out of the school yesterday and staff had to go driving round the place to find them and they were found on Renville pier. Luckily there wasn't an accident or lose of life this time unlike the tragedy that happened on a school tour back in the early 80's.

RubyGirl

deisemum wrote: »

Apparently a large number of pupils just walked out of the school yesterday and staff had to go driving round the place to find them and they were found on Renville pier. Luckily there wasn't an accident or lose of life this time unlike the tragedy that happened on a school tour back in the early 80's.

I'd be surprised if they walked from Oranmore to Renville Pier?

deisemum

RubyGirl wrote: »

I'd be surprised if they walked from Oranmore to Renville Pier?

They didn't hire a bus to go on the duck. It's not that long of a walk.

Greaney

I grew up in Oran and I went to Calasanctius a million years ago. In the late 80's and early 90's we had a slew of amazing leaving cert results so the academic reputation was terrific, along with it being a small town school, that made it educational gold dust.

Then everyone wanted a place in the school and I watched throughout the 90's and noughties as the school grew very fast, local people couldn't enrole their children and other families, who lived in Galway city sent thier children to Oranmore primary schools to make sure they got a place!!

With that kind of history I guess you're going to have loads of 'stories'. In my experience (my child is now in college), secondary school snobbery is rife, and parents scramble for a school that will secure a future for their child (for most, that means a college place). I can only conclude that if you want you son or daughter to go to college, you send them to a school with a peer group that expects to go to college. Food for thought....

mum2caco

I have just come across this discussion and am curious as to how things worked out. Did you move to Oranmore and send kids to Calasanctius? Hope all worked out for you one way or the other