St David’s Secondary School withdraws application fees
ST David’s secondary school in Greystones has withdrawn a €250 application fee for parents to enrol their children.
Families approached the Department of Education after they learned that the application fee is not permitted. Cllr Lourda Scott also approached the school and the department after learning about the payments.
‘Section 9 of the Education (Admissions to Schools) Act 2018 explicitly prohibits the charging of fees or seeking any contribution for admission to primary or secondary school. Some exceptions are allowed, for example in the case of fee charging secondary schools or boarding schools,’ she said. ‘ This important piece of legislation was enacted as parents were being faced with unnecessary and unfair charges of anything up to €250 in order to apply for a place in a school. Parents are under enough pressure ensuring their children have a place in a school of their choice. They should be able to trust the process and not be put in the position of policing legislation.’
Schools may seek a voluntary contribution when a child is enrolled, but it must be voluntary.
The school had opened applications for children starting secondary school in 2022 and 2023. Parents were invited to apply during the summer, and instructed to fill our a form and enclose the ‘administrative fee’ of €250.
According to the form, the fee ‘covers a myriad of costs including entrance assessment and associated administrative costs, locker, journal, water, insurance, postage, as well as well-being workshops in first year, etc’.
The form also informed parents that there would be no refund if the place was cancelled, only if the school did not grant a place.
The Department of Education contacted the board of management after hearing from parents, and the school dispensed with the fee.