Relocating to Midleton-need help about schools!

pa23

Hi all-
We just got word that we'll be relocating to Midleton and with the school year wrapping up, I'm trying to figure out which school would best suit my 6-year-old daughter before everyone goes on holiday!
She will be going into 1st class in September and I'd like to make the change for her as easy as possible.
I've seen earlier threads but am hoping to get some updated info.
Any personal feedback about the schools in Midleton would be greatly appreciated and also, if Midleton is a good choice for 'blow ins' :-)
Thanks for reading,
PA23

Ddad

Hi Pa,

I'm a blow in to Midleton. Here 13 years most of which we lived in the town itself. My children attend the gaelscoil. We're waiting on a new school at present but the kids have an indoor and outdoor play area and we're happy enough with the education our children are getting even though the building isn't ideal.

The town itself is well served with shops, pubs, restaurants and good transport links and its got a lot of outdoor amenities on its doorstep.

One of the main ways we got to know people and make connections was through our children. They all attend various classes and clubs and you'll get to meet a lot of parents through these avenues. The town itself is reasonably small so running into people and getting to know traders and people involved in the community has happened organically.

The sporting clubs in the town are well run and the gaa and the soccer clubs offer games for boys and girls.The rugby club offers boys rugby but not too sure about girls at underage. There are a few martial arts clubs in town that offer instruction to children (and adults) and there are several drama/dance type places.

There are also a couple of athletics clubs in the area that are always welcoming to new members at all levels of fitness and are great ways to develop social circles.

The town does lack a good pool with the only one being the midleton park but there are pools open to the public in Youghal and Cobh with nice pools available to members in Garryvoe and Castlemartyr.

I can't speak for the other schools directly as my children dont attend them. My friends have children in St John the Baptist and the educate together and although both schools have small issues overall our friends are very happy with them.

Best of luck in your endeavours. You can reply on this thread and I'll attempt to answer any queries I can for you.

pa23

Thanks Ddad for the bevy of info...sounds like Midleton has a fair bit going on!! I'll look into Gael Scoil and if okay with you, I'll pm you if I have any extra questions. Thanks again:-)

mordeith

St Brigid's is the main NS in Midleton. My wife taight there for a while and enjoyed working there. A friend of mine has a child in John the Baptist. Small class sizes but it's pretty hard to get into afaik.

Ddad

pa23 wrote: »

Thanks Ddad for the bevy of info...sounds like Midleton has a fair bit going on!! I'll look into Gael Scoil and if okay with you, I'll pm you if I have any extra questions. Thanks again:-)

I'd be glad to help if I can. Best of luck

pa23

Big positive to hear wife enjoyed time at St. Brigid's...says something about atmosphere of school. Thanks for info:-)

Balky78

Hi all! we will be relocating to Cork within the next year, we have kids, boy 15, girl 14, boys 9 and 4yrs. At the moment we are finishing up a 3 year personal decision to travel and live in Chile, where the kids have been learning spanish.
we are undecided on which neighbourhood to live at, Middleton,Caragaline, Kinsale. I have been on the school sites and its so overwhelming:((
its important to us not to be more than 30 mins from Cork city,a sailing club and have good internet! is it too much to ask???
We will need schools for all children, any advice, info will be greatly appreciated:) Thanks.

0byme75341jo28

Balky78 wrote: »

Hi all! we will be relocating to Cork within the next year, we have kids, boy 15, girl 14, boys 9 and 4yrs. At the moment we are finishing up a 3 year personal decision to travel and live in Chile, where the kids have been learning spanish.
we are undecided on which neighbourhood to live at, Middleton,Caragaline, Kinsale. I have been on the school sites and its so overwhelming:((
its important to us not to be more than 30 mins from Cork city,a sailing club and have good internet! is it too much to ask???
We will need schools for all children, any advice, info will be greatly appreciated:) Thanks.

Midleton is a great spot, has everything you're looking for too. There's a sailing club nearby in East Ferry (about ten minutes from the town, SailCork is the name, there's also a rowing club there), the boys secondary school is getting a new building (should be finished and everyone moved in by January AFAIK), there's fibre broadband available in certain parts of the town and where there isn't you can generally avail of 24mb broadband, and it's about 25-30 minutes from Cork City. Train takes 23 minutes to get to Cork, there's one every hour from 6.45am-10.45pm from Monday-Saturday, less frequent on Sunday, and there's also a frequent bus service. Good shops, decent cinema, lots of gyms. Supervalu, Lidl, Tesco and Aldi all have branches there, and there's soon to be an Iceland. LOADS of restaurants, you're spoiled for choice really, and there's about 15 pubs if you like going out, although there's no late bar AFAIK except McDaid's on a Saturday, although the place is usually invaded with 18-19 year olds on that night. Generally the people are friendly, there's no real "rough" spots if you know what I mean. People seem to like living there, it's definitely worth a look at least

I'll answer anymore questions if you have them.

BionicRasher

Balky78 wrote: »

Hi all! we will be relocating to Cork within the next year, we have kids, boy 15, girl 14, boys 9 and 4yrs. At the moment we are finishing up a 3 year personal decision to travel and live in Chile, where the kids have been learning spanish.
we are undecided on which neighbourhood to live at, Middleton,Caragaline, Kinsale. I have been on the school sites and its so overwhelming:((
its important to us not to be more than 30 mins from Cork city,a sailing club and have good internet! is it too much to ask???
We will need schools for all children, any advice, info will be greatly appreciated:) Thanks.

Cobh would fit the bill also
Sailing clubs (dinghy and cruiser), rowing, triathlon, running, rugby, soccer, clubs (to mention but a few) are all great and there is a great tennis club and swimming pool. Also an adventure center at cuskinny and they have canoes etc.
Lots of history in the arae with the Titanic and emigration and other stuff like Spike Island
Train to the city is 25 mins - drive is similar if you dont hit traffic at Dunkettle!
Fibre broadband in nearly all parts of the town. Relaxed atmosphere and there are always loads of things going on in the town such as Summer Swing, band recitals, crab fishing, Triathlon races, road races, massive cruise liners call in evey few days between May and October - there was even an air sea rescue demo last week with the Coast guard helicopter. Fota wildlife park is 10 mins away.
IMO Kinsale is similar but houses would tend to be more expensive and the road journey to the city is not great from Kinsale. Midleton has a lot going for it too but I like Cobh in that once you cross over the bridge on a Friday afternoon on the way home from work it feels like you are almost on holiday as there is so much to do and explore in the area.