More than 26,000 students at fee-paying secondary schools

Outside Dublin, the largest private school is Christian Brothers College in Cork City, which had 907 students enrolled last year.  

The number of students attending fee-paying post-primary schools in the Republic has exceeded 26,000 for the first time in a decade.

New figures published by the Department of Education show there was a 1.3% increase in the numbers attending private secondary schools in the recent school year — with 345 additional pupils enrolled in 2020/21 for a total of 26,226.

The number of fee-paying schools remained unchanged at 51, with two-thirds located in Dublin.

At the same time, the proportion of second-level students in fee-paying schools also reached its lowest point since 2000 as the increase in numbers attending private schools has not grown at the same rate as the overall rise in the student population in post-primary education.

The share of boys attending fee-charging schools dropped to 7.9% last year after falling continuously from a peak of 9.2% in 2008.

In a similar trend, the proportion of female students in private schools had declined steadily from 6.9% in 2009 to 5.9% last year.

A research paper published in the academic journal, Irish Educational Studies in 2019 identified affluence as a key factor in determining enrolment levels in fee-paying schools.

It found evidence that the demand for fee-paying schools, while falling generally in recent years, was becoming increasingly favoured by top-earning households.

The study by researchers at University College Cork observed that such a trend “could perhaps result in greater social divisions than those that already exist”. 

However, it said the success of students attending fee-paying schools in securing places in third-level colleges might not be determined by the school itself but by the traits of its students.

The country’s largest private school is the all-male Blackrock College in Dublin, where annual day fees last year were €7,100, with 1,023 students enrolled in 2020/21, just ahead of Belvedere College in Dublin’s north inner city which had 1,000 pupils.

Loreto Abbey in Dalkey with 695 students replaced Mount Anville in Goatstown as the country’s largest all-female private school.

The largest mixed private school is St Andrew’s College in Booterstown, Co Dublin, with 988 students last year.

The smallest fee-paying school in Ireland is the interdenominational John Scottus School based in Rathmichael, Co Dublin, with 120 students.

Outside Dublin, the largest private school is Christian Brothers College in Cork city which had 907 students enrolled last year.

The Department of Education figures exclude Nord Anglia, the international school located in south Dublin, which follows the international Baccalaureate diploma instead of the Leaving Certificate programme.

The Leopardstown-based facility is also the country’s most expensive school with day-pupil charges of up to €18,340 for the coming school year followed by St Columba’s College in Rathfarnham where annual fees for the coming school year for day pupils are €9,174, rising to €24,670 for a senior boarder.

The latest Department of Education figures show there was a 7% decrease in the number of second-level students who are full-time boarders.

A total of 3,333 pupils were enrolled as boarders in 26 schools providing boarding facilities last year — an annual decrease of 251.

The school with the highest number of boarders is Kilkenny College with 444, just ahead of Clongowes Wood College in Co Kildare with 421.

In contrast to primary schools where overall numbers fell last year, the total number of students attending all secondary schools increased by 7,734 to 379,184.

The majority of the country’s 730 secondary schools are mixed-sex establishments together with 128 all-girl schools and 101 all-boys schools.