Post Script.

The fire, of course, means that there are fewer applications than normal this year. So the odds have improved from 1 in 7 to to 1 in 5!

The Application Process.

Today we sent in the application forms for Gonzaga. The school is very clear and straightforward about the criteria for entry. http://www.gonzaga.ie/staticpages/index.php/admissions There is an application form with the usual information plus 3 key questions (I paraphrase) 1) why Gonzaga? 2) what have we to offer the college? 3) what Jesuit connections do you have? Based on this application there is a short list. The shortlisted parents and child are interviewed by the headmaster. He looks into his heart and decides who is most suitable. We will hear about the shortlist in early November. We will keep you posted.

Fate or Faith.

Sometimes fate (or faith) takes a hand. We had heard some stories last year about how poor Gonzaga were in contacting applicants. In contrast we had neighbours who had no problem. So just to be pro-active we made a call to the school last week. The school secretary was very helpful. She explained that a number of applications had been lost in a fire about 2 years ago (making sense of the bad stories). She also told us that the meeting for prospective parents for next September was scheduled for that very evening. We were welcome to come to the meeting and of course it was still not too late to re-apply. Fate or Faith - someone was looking after us.

Make your mind up - quick.

Last May we got an opportunity to get into St Mary’s primary school for 6th class. But we had just 5 days to make our mind up. The challenge wasn't just making up our mind - but also persuading our son to given up his school a year before he expected. In the end it was just too rushed and we turned it down deciding to take our chances this year. Another factor in turning down that opportunity is that Gonzaga is our first choice. It is our nearest school – about a 10 minute walk. It was a strong academic focus - it will suit our son. We applied shortly after we moved to Rathmines. But it is hard to get into. In a normal year there are over 400 applications for 80 places – about 30 of these places go to siblings. So the odds of getting in are 1 in 7.

Getting into secondary school.

This is a real issue in Dublin. Our son is in 6th Class and having left him in the same primary school after we moved house 5 years ago we would now like to get him somewhere local so that his new friends will be nearby. The local schools are

• Gonzaga College S.J., Ranelagh. http://www.gonzaga.ie/
• St Mary’s College, C.S.Sp. Rathmines. http://www.stmarys.ie/
• St Kilians Deutsche Schule, Roebuck. http://www.kilians.com/.

St Mary's and Gonzaga are difficult to get into, Kilians will be easier because his sisters went there. All schools give preference to siblings - makes sense. However as he was only 3 when we left Germany, St Kilians is not the obvious choice that it was for his older sisters who had 3 years of German schooling.