A Nov. 22 article by John Whelan of Independent.ie provided the following glimpse into the controversy:
Sacred Heart had 175 applications for 120 positions. School principal Pauline McKenna says 50 places were set aside for sisters of existing students and three are reserved for exceptional cases.
The Sacred Heart School was founded by Catherine McAuley in 1836; but it is 1985 since any structural development took place at the school, which is operating to its capacity with 700 students.
"We are gutted by what has happened," said one desperate parent."We have appealed the decision as our daughter has gone to a town school all along and we assumed she would simply go on to the Sacred Heart. All her friends got in and she didn't.
"This is very hard for a 12-year-old to take and we don't have any other options, unless a boarding school and that's not possible. It doesn't seem fair," complained the mother, who was also anxious not to be identified as she and her husband still hope their daughter can join friends in secondary school at the Sacred Heart next September.
Labels: girls school, admissions, ireland
Posted By: Aspen/CRC
