Two boys remain without Tullamore secondary school places

RTE has to admit that the school is full, but at the same time the Irish state and their media tells us that it is 'far right' to say anything is full!  In May of 2024, the Department of Education confirmed that 18,266 Ukrainian pupils were enrolled in Irish schools.  That doesn't include likely thousands more of other ''refugees' from safe countries.  

Two mothers in Tullamore, Co Offaly, have expressed their anguish as their two sons spend a third week at home because secondary schools in the town are full and have no room for them.

The boys, aged 12 and 13, met the criteria for enrolment at the two schools in the town that admit boys, but amid strong demand for places this year, they lost out in a lottery for places at their school of first preference Coláiste Choilm.

A number of areas across the country have struggled to meet demand for second-level school places this year.

Additional school places were created in some towns and suburbs to meet additional demand created by demographic growth.

The mothers told RTÉ News that their sons were the only boys in their class who failed to secure a place at Coláiste Choilm, for which their school is a feeder school.

Coláiste Choilm's admissions policy gives precedence to boys who have or had a brother at the school, or whose parent works at the school, or whose father or grandfather attended the school.

These two boys do not fit any of those criteria. The school filled the remaining places using a random selection from a list of local boys who had applied from a number of feeder schools.

The other school in the town that takes boys, Tullamore College, is also oversubscribed this year.

"He has really gone into himself," one mother said.

Describing a sporty but quiet boy, she said "the other day he told me they have started football and hurling training [at the school], and he just looked at me".

"He comes out with something like that every now and then, or he asks 'why don’t they want me?'

"He doesn’t talk about it much but I can see it is sitting in his mind all the time."

The second mother said her son was "deflated".

"He is very empathetic towards others and to see him upset is heartbreaking," she said.

She described how her son does not want to go to his sports training "because he knows there are kids there who will ask him 'why aren’t you at school?'".

The mothers, Amanda and Inga, have been told by child welfare agency Tusla that they can apply for home tuition of nine hours per week for their children.

However, both mothers insist that their boys need to be in school with their friends.

They were told to apply to schools in other towns, however they both feel strongly that their sons should not have to travel a long distance out of their own town and county to go to school.

They point out that they are involved in sports locally.

It is also not clear if there are places available in those towns. Both mothers did approach the next closest secondary school to the town but were told that it too was full up.

The Department of Education said that "there are a small number of boys in the [Tullamore] area who have not yet secured a first year place".

"The department's main responsibility is to ensure that schools in an area can, between them, cater for all pupils seeking school places in the area.

"In relation to school admissions, it is the responsibility of the managerial authorities of all schools to implement an enrolment policy in accordance with the Education Act, 1998," it said.

It said that across the four post-primary schools in the Tullamore Killina School Planning Area, "there are more first year places available for 2024/25 than pupils who have left 6th class in primary school in the area".

It said it "continues to engage with schools and patrons in the Tullamore Killina School Planning Area, and other areas across the country, to ensure that there are sufficient school places available to meet local needs into the future".

However, talk of future years is cold comfort to Amanda and Inga.

Amanda describes how she has been left with no option but to leave her son alone or with his grandparents during the school day as she goes to work.

"For him not to be in school, it is a big deal. He waits during the day for his friends to get home," she said.

Last month, principal of Coláiste Choilm Tadhg O'Sullivan told local media that the school had increased the number of places by four students "in response to the need to accommodate students... without a school place"

"We are packed to capacity", he told The Tullamore Tribune.

"We have done as much as we could given the space and facilities we have."

While Inga’s son's friends go to school, he spends weekdays with his aunt "doing nothing", she said.

There is no sign of a resolution to this.

"Both of our boys want to go to school, but they feel that nobody wants them," Inga said.

Source