primary schools in carlow

shesalady

Hi,
My little girl is due to start primary school next year and I was wondering which one to enroll her in.
My question is what is/are the best primary school(s) in carlow town and why?
Thanking you all

byhookorbycrook

Do you want single sex, Catholic, Church of Ireland, Gaelscoil, Educate Together? Do you want the town centre or maybe a few miles out? You might be late for putting her name down for some schools.

The other point is that what some people think a "good" school is can vary wildly.

Here are some school websites:
http://www.carloweducatetogether.ie/home/ Mixed
www.cgscoil.ie Mixed, Gaelscoil
http://www.askeagns.com/ Girls only
http://smgscarlow.scoilnet.ie/blog/ Girls only
http://bennekerrynationalschool.wordpress.com/ Mixed, about 2 miles out from town centre

Other schools close to the town would be Killeshin , Graiguecullen, Tinryland, all mixed.Green Road (Mixed, Church of Ireland)

shesalady

Thanks byhookorcrook.
You seem to know a lot about schools. This is my first experience with them. Please can you advice me as to what you think are good points to look for in a school especially as I look through the websites you gave me. I don't really mind if mixed or single or location as long as in carlow town.
Thanks

iano.p

My twins are going scoil mhuira and we had to put there names down weeks ago the are doing the interviews this week so you will need to look into it soon. We think its a good school

Queen-Mise

My daughter is in Askea girls and to be honest I am very iffy about it. Whereas my son is in Askea boys and that is an incredible school. She is in 1st class and we have had a problem every year with her & the school. On the other hand my son is now in 5th class and we haven't had a single complaint/only compliments on his school.

I would seriously consider Educate Together and am still considering moving here there.

I am not a fan of the Gaelschoil in general...

And Scoil Mhuire is still under too much Catholic influence for my taste. And have also heard a couple of negative stories about it - so I wouldn't go near it with a barge pole.

I don't know anything about the protestant school near the IT nor Graigue NS, although I think they only take kids from that side of the river.

byhookorbycrook

ShesaLady, the Gaelscoil tends to have huge waiting lists and places would be allocated by now. For me, in selecting a school, I would make an appointment to see the principal and get a look around the school, you'll get a good feel for the place then. Only you will be able to see what is the best fit for your little lassie.

You may also want to take in account things like after school care.

racso1975

A lot of what has been said already is what i would agree with. I rand the gael scoil when my fella was 6 weeks old and they were already full :eek: was only cause i was working near there at the time and somebody said I should ring and I laughed it off.

Glad i went with the local choice but we are rural. My main focus of thought was socialization as opposed to solely educational achievement. By this I mean we live close to a village and no point in him growing up in the area and not knowing any local lads or being on the fringes of football teams etc.

There was also the practical part of when having play dates etc we would not have to travel huge distances to drop and collect cause trust me you will be on the road a fair amount. Kid has a better social/sporting life then me!!!!!

natty_asha

i sent my little lady to educate together. Its a great school. It wasn't the closest option but I felt that for what i was looking for it was far better than st fiaccs.

Whilst education is obviously a priority i like the fact that they are about encouraging a child to reach their potential and to instill confidence in children so that they will achieve whatever they choose to do. At the end of the day not every child is academic and I feel that in educate together they understand that and a lot of learning is through practical exercises.

Obviously the religious aspect of the school differs from others since they are nondenominational. This is something to consider if your big into your faith. Your daughter can still participate in the religious sacraments in an afterschools programme.

The only other thing to note about educate together is that it will be moving to a new site approx 1.5 miles from town out the athy road so depending on your living arrangements and transport this could be a problem.

My sisters kids attend Killeshin NS and its also a very good school but I think its probably a bit late to enroll your child now.

Ballinabrannagh NS is also a good school from what I hear from parents. I haven't heard anything bad about it.

They only negative things I heard about schools are about Scoil Mhuire (i went there as a child) and St Fiaccs. Both complaints were in relation to class size and bullying.

shesalady

thanking you all for the advice so far

byhookorbycrook

Just to clarify that ET schools are multi-denominational, not non-denominational. There are no public non-denom primary schools in Ireland.

Queen-Mise

A point in pro of Askea Girls & Boys. When the weather is good, like today, they don't get homework. Last year, when we got the two nice weeks in April or May - they didn't get homework for the entire time. The first day it started raining again - they started getting homework again.

I thought it was really nice of the school & very sensible. As I wasn't forcing the kids to stay inside doing homework :D Those two weeks last year were really the only nice weather of the entire year, so let the kids enjoy it, they do their homework every other day.

Bishop Foley's give the kids homework, and they get white card's if it isn't done no matter what the weather is like. One of my friend's son goes to BF and she can't get over how relaxed the Askea's are compared to BF's.


Oh and Askea's school tours are much, much better than BF's, not sure about Scoil Mhuire. 6th Class last year in Askea Boys went to Titanic in Belfast, the 5th Class in BF's are going to Rathwood & Altamont Gardens (which is pretty pathetic really).
I'll ask in Askea girls tomorrow where they are bringing the girls this year & some of the local girls who are in SM, where they are going.

byhookorbycrook

I wouldn't choose a school based on school tours-they are only one day a year!

Bog Man 1

byhookorbycrook wrote: »

I wouldn't choose a school based on school tours-they are only one day a year!

I would pick a school based on Principal and discipline . Discipline with the teachers not the pupils . If a principle lets teachers be absent or late for class it is very disruptive to the school year . Country schools in General are better but there is nowhere immune from social problems .
Most teachers I have spoken to are very professional and if you are interested in your kids they will be . Do not be constantly contacting teachers about minor matters . It is
very easy to be interested in pupils progress when they start school but it is more important to keep up the interest when they get into third and fourth class.
Keep your children poor because the drug dealers are not interested in them if they have no money .

racso1975

Bog Man 1 wrote: »

I would pick a school based on Principal and discipline . Discipline with the teachers not the pupils . If a principle lets teachers be absent or late for class it is very disruptive to the school year . Country schools in General are better but there is nowhere immune from social problems .
Most teachers I have spoken to are very professional and if you are interested in your kids they will be . Do not be constantly contacting teachers about minor matters . It is
very easy to be interested in pupils progress when they start school but it is more important to keep up the interest when they get into third and fourth class.
Keep your children poor because the drug dealers are not interested in them if they have no money .

Brilliant

Queen-Mise

byhookorbycrook wrote: »

I wouldn't choose a school based on school tours-they are only one day a year!

Seriously question:

Do you think that something like, a school tour, is symptomatic of the larger policy of a school.


For example, I find Askea BNS is far better that Askea GNS. The Boys school generally has much better extra-curricular stuff, for example, school concerts, choir.
So for me, the fact that they go to Titanic in Belfast shows that they go the extra mile for their kids. (EDIT: excuse the pun).

byhookorbycrook

School tours tend to cost money, so many schools are trying to stay local and keep cost down for the parents, so I don't think it's fair to use that as a measure of "wider school policy."

shesalady

I am shocked to hear drugs mentioned in connection with primary schools. Can you please clarify what type of drugs. Please are drugs really a problem in primary schools?? And if so which schools are affected??

Bog Man 1

shesalady wrote: »

I am shocked to hear drugs mentioned in connection with primary schools. Can you please clarify what type of drugs. Please are drugs really a problem in primary schools?? And if so which schools are affected??

Children start smoking in Primary School . I know of no school with a particular problem . If your children do not have money they cannot buy anything they should not .
If children are poor it gives you control for their own good . Once they start on the slippery slope they will lose stuff that has to be replaced . In other words they will sell stuff for money and say it was lost or stolen .

Queen-Mise

byhookorbycrook wrote: »

School tours tend to cost money, so many schools are trying to stay local and keep cost down for the parents, so I don't think it's fair to use that as a measure of "wider school policy."

Does the cost paid by the kids not pay for the school tour?

Although I still think I have a point. Education is not just about learning to read, write, english, maths, etc. The extra-curricular stuff is just as important. So a school that puts a ton of work into other things, is a better school IMO.

racso1975

Bog Man 1 wrote: »

Children start smoking in Primary School . I know of no school with a particular problem . If your children do not have money they cannot buy anything they should not .
If children are poor it gives you control for their own good . Once they start on the slippery slope they will lose stuff that has to be replaced . In other words they will sell stuff for money and say it was lost or stolen .

Care to explain then why the area's in the country with the most rampant drug problems are the ones where people and families and children are most economically deprived?

byhookorbycrook

Yes, tour are paid for by the parents, but schools understand how much under pressure parents are and don't want to add more pressure. Of course schools are about more than the three Rs, but all primary schools must teach Gaeilge , English ,Mathematics ,History, Geography, Science ,Visual Arts ,Music, Drama ,Physical Education and Social, Personal and Health Education. Primary schools tend to take a more holistic approach to the education of the child, as they are not changing teachers every 40 mins as they do in secondary.

Extra-curricular things, are by definition done after school hours and can be done by teachers for free or by others who offer services which must be paid for. I do not have children in either school you mention, so can't comment on to what is done outside of school hours in either one. I know that Askea girls signed up for the Peace proms choir project ,so there's a choir there anyhow.

She's A Lady, I think the post on drugs in reference to the primary schools is inaccurate.

Bog Man 1

racso1975 wrote: »

Care to explain then why the area's in the country with the most rampant drug problems are the ones where people and families and children are most economically deprived?

I live in an affluent area of the County and on our road there are quit a few 2013 cars and a lot of cars 2010 or newer . There are four bad heroin addicts and a lot of functioning drug users and about twenty heavy drinkers some of whom are women but everything looks rosy in the garden . On analysis the drug users had access to money at a young age . The four Heroin addicts are done for and I reckon they will be dead in a few years .
There is a Terrace within a few miles and I would know some people from there and they know to steer clear of drugs and drink because there is no safety net for them .They cannot afford the Rutland Centre . In the terrace there are two addicts that are near the end and both of them tried to hang themselves at different times but they are from families with a history of addiction .I knew their Grandfathers and Fathers ..They cannot afford the Rutland centre .
I know what is going on in my community because I work there and keep my eyes open . Being affluent does not make you safe from drugs but makes it easier to hide it .

byhookorbycrook

Can we stay on topic please? If people want to discuss drugs in Carlow, please open a new thread.