Limerick’s Laurel Hill Colaiste FCJ is the first gaelcholaiste to be named the top secondary school in Ireland.
With an average of 88.7% of its pupils gaining university places over the last three years, the 400-pupil girls’ school on South Circular Road, Limerick, has overtaken boys’ boarding school Glenstal Abbey, in Murroe, Limerick, to gain the top place in the 2014 Sunday Times Guide to Ireland’s 400 best schools, published today (August 31).
Laurel Hill Colaiste FCJ is the first Irish-language school to head the annual Sunday Times Parent Power survey since the paper published its first league table in 2003. It is also the first non-fee-paying school at the top of the Sunday Times league table for 10 years, and is the first girls’ school to be named the best school in Ireland since 2009. Laurel Hill Colaiste FCJ has been the top school in Munster (excluding Cork) for four out of the past 11 years.
The Sunday Times Parent Power survey ranks the top 400 secondary schools on the average number of pupils gaining university places over the three years between 2011 and 2013. The Guide also reveals the figures for the total number of pupils entering all public sector third-level education from each school.
Glenstal Abbey, Limerick, now second in The Sunday Times School Guide, was the top school in Ireland in 2012 and 2013. It sent an average of 88.3% of its students to university between 2011 and 2013. The 200-pupil boys’ boarding school, which opened its doors to day students in 2012, was the top school in Munster (excluding Cork) for five out of the past eleven years.
THE SUNDAY TIMES SCHOOLS GUIDE
IRELAND’S TOP 25 SCHOOLS
Fee-paying school in bold, gaelcholaisti in italics
2014 2013 Type % at % at
rank rank School university third_level
1 2 Laurel Hill Colaiste FCJ, South Circular Rd, Limerick Girls 88.7 99.1
2 1 Glenstal Abbey, Murroe, Co Limerick Boys 88.3 100
3 3 Colaiste Iosagain, Booterstown, Co Dublin Girls 88.2 100
4 4 Gonzaga College, Ranelagh, Dublin 6 Boys 87.4 100
5 7 Mount Anville Secondary School, Goatstown, Dublin 14 Girls 84.7 100
6 14 Alexandra College, Milltown, Dublin 6 Girls 84.6 100
7 8 Presentation Brothers College, Mardyke, Cork Boys 84.6 99.4
8 15 Colaiste na Coiribe, Tuam Road, Galway Mixed 81.8 100
9 12 Scoil Mhuire, Sydney Place, Cork Girls 81.6 96.8
10 5 Holy Child Secondary School, Killiney, Co Dublin Girls 80.6 100
11 13 Mount Mercy College, Model Farm Rd, Cork Girls 79.0 93.4
12 6 Colaiste Ide, Dingle, Co Kerry Girls 78.9 86.0
13 22 Colaiste an Phiarsaigh, Glanmire, Co Cork Mixed 77.7 100
14 11 Loreto College, St Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2 Girls 77.6 100
15 43 Colaiste Ailigh, Letterkenny, Co Donegal Mixed 77.3 90.3
16 9 Rathdown School, Glenageary, Co Dublin Girls 76.7 100
17 10 The Teresian School, Donnybrook, Dublin 4 Girls 76.5 100
18 20 Christian Brothers College, Sidney Hill, Cork Boys 76.4 97.3
19 31 Castleknock College, Castleknock, Dublin 15 Boys 76.1 100
20 17 Colaiste Eoin, Booterstown, Co Dublin Boys 76.1 99.1
21 24 Colaiste Iognaid SJ, Sea Rd, Galway Mixed 75.6 92.8
22 16 Jesus & Mary Secondary School, Salthill, Galway Girls 75.6 90.2
23 26 Muckross Park College, Donnybrook, Dublin 4 Girls 74.7 96.5
24 19 Colaiste Oiriall, Monaghan Mixed 73.4 95.5
25 27 Loreto High School, Rathfarnham, Dublin 14 Girls 73.2 98.3
