(Gaeilge) Cuid de rannpháirtithe na ‘Ravelóide’ fógartha
December 10, 2015
(Gaeilge) Deireadh tagtha le cruinnithe faoin Straitéis 20 Bliain agus tuarascáil le hullmhú
December 10, 2015
(Gaeilge) Easpa seirbhísí Gaeilge ina cúis imní do Chonradh na Gaeilge agus an Straitéis á plé i mBÁC
December 9, 2015
(Gaeilge) McHugh ‘sásta’ le scéimeanna teanga ainneoin mhian an Choimisinéara córas nua a chur i bhfeidhm
December 8, 2015
It was a British Army base for more than 150 years, now Ebrington could soon be home to an Irish language school
December 4, 2015
Plans have been put forward to open an Irish language secondary school on the site of a former British Army military base in Derry.
A group of prominent Irish language educationalists have created the plan which would see the new school open at Ebrington Square by September 2016 at the earliest.
The new school would be called An Bradan Feasa which translates as ‘The Salmon of Knowledge’.
A detailed proposal for the creation of the school will be sent to the Department of Education tomorrow.
If given the go-ahead, the plan would be to have an initial intake of around 20 pupils.
However, the committee involved in the project say they hope that the school could eventually cater for hundreds of pupils.
The school’s catchment area would be Derry and Strabane where there are currently four Irish language primary schools.
At present, there is no Irish language secondary school in Derry, although St Brigid’s College does offer some courses through the medium of Irish.
Philip Sheerin, a member of the committee behind the new school plans, described the lack of an Irish language secondary school in the local area as an ‘incredible educational disservice’ to children who wanted to continue their education through the medium of Irish.
Mr Sheerin stressed that the school would be non-denominational and said it would be a great opportunity to add vibrancy to the ongoing regeneration of Ebrington.
The development of the Ebrington site, which had been used as a military base since 1841, was taken over by regeneration company Ilex in 2003 after the site was vacated by the British Army.
www.derrynow.com
(Gaeilge) Glactha ag Comhairle an Aontais Eorpaigh le plean an Rialtais maidir le maolú na Gaeilge
December 4, 2015
(Gaeilge) Taispeántas Ealaíne Na Nollag le Tristan Rosenstock
December 4, 2015
Irish-Medium eLearning Conference
December 3, 2015
There was a strong presence from Irish-medium schools and units on Wednesday, 25 November for the first Irish-medium eLearning conference, hosted at St Mary’s.
Organised jointly by C2k and An tÁisaonad/St Mary’s University College, the conference aimed to highlight to the schools the range of eLearning opportunities that are available within C2k services. Additionally, C2k wanted to listen to the Irish-medium sector in terms of additional projects in which it might wish to participate and to improve communication with the sector and stakeholders.
Opening the event, Professor Peter Finn, Principal of St Mary’s University College, emphasised the joined-up approach of the conference and how appropriate it was that the conference was being held in the College, which had been pioneering in Irish-medium teacher education since the early 1990s.
Gavin Boyd, Head of the Education Authority, echoed those words in his keynote address. The conference also featured presentations made by the Education and Training Inspectorate (ETI), An tÁisaonad, the Council for the Curriculum, Education and Assessment (CCEA), the Curriculum Advisory and Support Service (CASS), C2k and a number of schools.
The conference was tailored to relay the views of Irish-medium schools and units with a number of discussion groups and to end with a plenary session.
www.stmarys-belfast.ac.uk
(Gaeilge) Coláiste Eoin i mBÁC ar an scoil is mó a sholáthraíonn mic léinn d’institiúidí tríú leibhéal de réir liosta nua
December 3, 2015
Fee-paying schools dominate high-points courses
December 3, 2015
Table-topping Coláiste Eoin in Stillorgan bucks trend as one of just three non-fee-paying schools in top 10 with high progression rates.
Fee-paying schools continue to dominate the tables showing how many students progressed to high-points courses in college.
What we have designated as high-points courses are those at the seven universities, the teacher training colleges such as Mary Immaculate College; plus the Royal College of Surgeons and DIT. Generally, courses in these colleges require a higher level of points for entry than other colleges, including some institutes of technology.
Fee-paying schools largely command the top 30 in this table. This has been an ongoing trend in The Irish Times Feeder Schools tables for a number of years. Given that the State pays for these schools’ teachers’ salaries, it leaves scope for the use of fees for educational resources and facilities that can greatly benefit their students’ education. Some fee-paying schools may also resist enrolling children with educational difficulties.
While the fee-paying schools dominate, a boys’ Gaelscoil in Stillorgan tops this year’s table. Last year Coláiste Eoin had a progression rate of 89 per cent (joint 15th) but climbed to first this year with a 115 per cent progression rate to high points courses.
This figure includes students who sat the Leaving Cert in Coláiste Eoin in other years, and then accepted a place on an undergraduate course this year.
Coláiste Eoin’s sister school, Coláiste Íosagáin, ranked joint ninth in this year’s table with Muckross College, Dublin.
Both schools have a high-points course progression rate of 96 per cent. These three schools are the only non-fee paying schools that cracked the top 10 list. Other schools in the top 10 are Gonzaga College at number two with 109 per cent, St Vincent’s Castleknock College at number three with 108 per cent and the Teresian School, which falls from first to fourth place, at 105 per cent.
Gaelscoileanna continue to do well in sending students to high-point courses. Seven Irish-speaking schools feature in the top 30 list. These include Coláiste Cois Life, Lucan, with 83 per cent; Gaelcholáiste na Mara, Arklow, with 78 per cent; Meanscoil Garman 73 per cent and Coláiste na Coiribe, Galway with 74 per cent.
A bilingual school, Coláiste Iognáid in Galway, takes the 19th spot with an 84 per cent progression rate.
These figures do not tell us specifically where the class of 2015 ended up. The progression rates detailed here include not only this year’s Leaving Cert students, but also students who previously attended the schools listed. They may have deferred their place, they may be going back to college as mature students, or they may have repeated their Leaving Cert in another school or a grind school.
Schools in university towns or cities tend to have a large proportion of their students opting to attend the local university. Cork, Kildare, Limerick and Galway schools feature in the top 30 list but are largely outnumbered by Dublin.
Only two schools in the top 10 are outside of the capital. These are Cistercian College, Roscrea, with a student progression rate on to high-points courses of 103 per cent (fifth); and Clongowes Wood College in Kildare with 97 per cent (joint eighth). Both are fee-paying schools.
Some non-university counties are listed in the top 30. These include Gaelcholáiste na Mara in Arklow with 78 per cent; St Peter’s College in Meath with 78 per cent and Loreto College Cavan with 72 per cent.
Kilkenny College with 77 per cent (joint 25th) also features.
http://www.irishtimes.com/news/education/fee-paying-schools-dominate-high-points-courses-1.2451891
