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_levelÂ
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
