The Interview Process
The Principal, Deputy Principal or other members of staff, on behalf of the Board, will interview both parents/guardians and the prospective student to acquaint them with the school ethos, aims and objectives following the selection procedures stated in the ‘Selection Criteria’ above. Presently (2008) interviews are normally held when the student is in Fifth Year of the primary school according to the date of application and the student’s place in the file. If the application is successful notification of acceptance will be sent only following the interview procedure.
Parents are advised that places in the Secondary School are limited. All prospective students and parents will also be asked to sign the “School Code of Behaviour and Discipline” indicating that they will abide by the School rules, aims and objectives. Following this, students will be required to undertake an entrance test, the results of which will not be used to discriminate unfavorably against the student’s academic record in the school or to place the student in any way at an educational disadvantage in the school.
Enrolments through the School
Alternatively, where vacancies exist in other years up through the school, the school will endeavour to accommodate the enrolement of students into an appropriate year group. As with First Year entries, the Principal, on behalf of the Board will interview both the parents/guardians, the prospective student will be required to show that her behaviour and general progress up to that point would be deemed to be compatible with the School ethos, aims and objectives and that she would have made sufficient academic progress to allow her cope with the demands of a particular year. All decisions in relation to the enrolment of pupils into the Secondary School are made by the Principal in accordance with the policy agreed by the Board of Management. Having been accepted, the student and her parents, will also be asked to sign the “Code of Behaviour and Discipline” indicating that they will abide by the School Rules, aims and objectives.
Requests to Change the Year of Entry
Your daughter’s Application has been placed in the file according to the year of entry you have indicated on the Application Form. Please note that any request to change her year of entry will involve a formal re-application process.
Transition Year
Prospective parents and students will be made aware, at the enrolment stage, that Transition Year in the secondary school is compulsory. Only in rare and exceptional cases would a student be allowed to progress directly to Fifth Year after Third Year without having completed Transition year or an equivalent educational standard. Where students have had their Post Primary education in the state the school does not accept students into Fifth Year who have not completed Transition Year in our school or in another Post Primary School
Class Placement
After enrolement, the selection of a student’s class is made by the Principal, on behalf of the Board. Requests to change class at any stage are accommodated only in exceptional circumstances and are entirely at the discretion of the Principal and the Board.
Non-Catholic Students
Prospective parents and students of the Secondary School who are not Catholic are expected to respect the Catholic ethos and traditions of the School. If parents wish their daughters not to participate in religion classes, they must make application to the school to this effect in writing. The School will endeavour to accommodate the situation where possible. The School however, seeks to promote the Catholic faith not only in religion class but in all aspects of school life.
Pupil Behaviour
Any student of the school who persistently disobeys the school rules or whose behaviour is deemed by her teachers and by the Board to be unacceptable for a student in the school or whose behaviour is deemed to have brought the school into disrepute, will forfeit her right to a place in the Secondary School. The decision of the Board is deemed to be absolute in this matter.