A private Galway grind school is the top feeder school for NUI, Galway, writes John Downes
One of the most striking features of today's list of the top feeder schools to NUI, Galway is the fact that most of those included on the list are drawn from the free school sector.
Unlike Trinity College Dublin and University College Dublin, where private fee-paying colleges and grind schools in the Dublin area dominate, these latest figures indicate that NUI, Galway continues to cater to students from a variety of backgrounds.
Among the schools who make it on to the list of NUI, Galway's top 20 feeder schools are Coláiste Sheosaimh, Galway; Dominican College, Galway; Jesus and Mary secondary school, Galway, and Coláiste Fhlannáin in Clare. Others which also feature strongly include Scoil Naomh Ioseph Calasanctius, Galway, Coláiste Iognáid, Galway; Summerhill College, Sligo; and St Columba's College, Donegal.
Significantly, however, a private grind school, Yeats College, now heads the university's list of feeder schools. This suggests that the boom in such schools is spreading beyond Dublin. Another grind school, Limerick Tutorial College, is also sending a large number of students there.
These private grind schools are increasingly being established in the main regional towns and cities, with many modelling themselves on the formula which has proven so successful in Dublin.
This boom can be traced back in part to the abolition of third-level fees a decade ago, but the rise and rise of the economy in this period has also played its part.
Faced with the CAO points race, many parents seem only too willing to pay the fees which such schools charge.
However, others point out that this raises serious questions about the possibility of students competing on a level playing field within the educational system.
Another interesting feature of today's list is that whereas all of the schools which made it into last year's top 10 came from the Galway area, this year has seen the appearance of schools from Sligo, Mayo and Clare.
The university itself was originally founded in 1845 and has experienced significant growth in recent years. Two years ago, it launched an ambitious €250 million five-year strategic plan, the aim of which is to locate the university at the forefront of research here and internationally.
The university has seven faculties, including arts, science, law, commerce, engineering and Celtic studies, and has a student enrolment in the region of 12,500.
Under its current president, Dr Iognáid Ó Muircheartaigh, it has also shown it can seriously compete for research funding with other universities. NUI, Galway has one of the highest staff-student ratios in the third-level sector. As a result, it is a popular choice among CAO applicants.
As today's figures show, many of these same students are drawn from areas around the university, including Galway itself.