Living in Navan - son looking at School in Dublin

seamus10

Hi,

I am living in Navan. My son has been offered a place in Belvedere College in Dublin. Just wondering if folks have any thoughts on whether this is feasible or if anyone knows anyone who does this?

Thanks,

Shay

densification

There are a good few students that commute from Ashbourne, Dunshaughlin, Ratoath and Navan to Belvedere. He definitely won't be alone in coming from Meath.

It's a decent commute so if you(he) aren't sure, maybe a local school would be better. If he does rugby, the training is usually on the Navan Road in Cabra which certainly helps with the commute home after.

I would check the bus timetables etc. If he's gettting the train he can get off at Broombridge and then get the Luas to Parnell. It's only a 2 minute walk then.

There are a lot of factors other than commuting to take into account in the OP's question, but my view would be that local schools are a better idea unless there are very good reasons why you or he wouldn't rate them. That's related to commuting and transport. If your local schools would do a good job for your son, then they are almost certainly the better bet, because he will have a decent school and good mates nearby without having to travel to find them.

Our fella went to a good school with, for want of a better expression, a "high-end" reputation. It was also local to us. The youngsters who lived around the area had good pals and a good social life in their teens. The students who travelled from further away had a bit more of a struggle. They had to travel by car or public transport for everything - not just school, but all the social stuff because most of the social events took place near where the bulk of the kids lived.

Commuting is also a time sink, especially when you're a teenager. Having your school and your social life "at your fingertips" is a good thing for a person that age, IMO, and commuting is the kind of stuff you should only have to worry about when you get older.

SouthWesterly

I used to travel from trim to Dublin for college. An early start and late home.

Trying to do class work is impossible that late at night.

mikeybhoy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119926475#Comment_119926475

For college I'd understand but for school it's a bit odd doing a commute like that just to go to school. Although the OPs son will be well used to commuting by the time they start college/work.

Xterminator

i sent daughter to a school that was not the closest to us. One that has a great reputation for good academic outcomes. In our case travel time was under 1 hr - it was only 30 mins when the bus actually came on time.

i would suggest you talk with your child and see what he thinks. Its not you that will be travelling long distances every (school) day for several hours and many of those days will be in inclement weather. You don't mention about school friends, and if all/most of his friends will be in the local school. That is a consideration because children do settle faster if they have friends already in the school. If he has some friends going to belvedere that would be good.

Getting homework done will be a challenge because of the commute, unless he has the discipline and the facility to do some work on the commute.

If he is not 100% behind the idea -my advice would be not to force the issue. Quite simply it is a big ask. If you both think it is worth it, you can give it a try - if it doesn't work out perhaps you might be able to switch in 2nd year.

seamus10

Thanks all for your opinions. In the end, went with good local school. Spoke to my son - he gave both options a lot of consideration and decide to stay local. Time lost commuting and sport option the main reason. Thanks again all

road_high

I think that was the best decision- commuting sounds like madness to me for school