Ten Wexford schools in list of top 400
TEN Co Wexford secondary schools are included in a league table of 400 ‘top schools’ in Ireland, ranked by the number of pupils going on to university after their Leaving Cert.
Loreto Wexford has dropped 18 places on the list, published annually by the Sunday Times, but still ranks highest in Wexford, and 57th overall in the country. With 65.5 per cent of Loreto girls attending a university, and just over 90 per cent at third level, the school is fifth overall in Leinster (excluding Dublin).
St. Peter’s College has jumped 13 places on the list, to 142nd place, with 53.6 per cent at university and 90.4 per cent going on to third level.
Meanscoil Gharman, the allIrish secondary school located at Brownswood House, south of Enniscorthy, is just six places behind St. Peter’s but down 31 places on the previous year.
FCJ Bunclody is 168th, up 15 places, while St. Mary’s New Ross is up 101 places to 180th, the biggest Wexford gain.
Coláiste Bríde in Enniscorthy is another major mover, up 69 places on the previous year.
Some principals criticise the publication of the list as schools are measured not by the numbers pursuing a third level education, but the number of pupils attending one of the nine universities on the island of Ireland, the main teacher training colleges, the Royal College of Surgeons, or the National College of Art and Design.
No account is taken of students attending college in the UK or further afield, or those at colleges specialising in repeat exams or plc courses.