Considering I've only ever gone to this school, it's a bit hard to give a review in terms of how it…read morecompares with other schools around the country, or even Dublin for that matter. However, I can give a review of the quality of teaching and of hospitality with which each student is greeted, which I know are both flexible over the years, amongst other things.
So, having done six years in the school, two of which were spent in fifth year, what can I say? Well, I think the first and most important note to record is how anyone can be guaranteed that their full potential will be reached, if the desire is there. Whether it's sports, education, social development skills or music, there is nothing in the way of students for using their talents to the full potential. Nial Quinn, a renowned footballer who plays internationally, went to Drimnagh Castle and played for the school team. Another student left to play for Celtic after his Junior cert.
The school operates heavily under the premise that motivating students to work is the key aspect in securing a bright future, while also understanding the limits we all face as interdependent peoples, knowing that the integration into social circles is also of vital importance.
The level of teaching is reasonably good, but not excellent. Speaking averagely for over the six years, taking into account the quality of new teachers who were employed, I found that the younger the teachers (who arrived as the years went on) the better the standard of teaching. A lot of the older teachers didn't seem as intuitive or interesting, with the exception of a few. This was the general consensus, and remained synonymous with the collective opinion of the school over the years. Luckily, perhaps, there was an influx of new teachers in 2007 which increased ever since, improving the standards hitherto.
For all my years spent in the school I found that the only barrier between myself and getting the best of my education was my inclination to get distracted during class, and surprisingly NOT my participation in the many events going on in the school. I was a part of the Peace&Justice group in the school, which recognizes Third World needs and disadvantages. Many events were held which we, as members, attended. Some we hosted ourselves, requiring a lot of time for organizing. As well as this, I was a member of the school's athletic team and managed to compete in Santry during my final year. Part of being in the Higher Irish class allowed us to go to Kerry for a few days as part of an immersion-in-the-language program, as opposed to merely learning the language from a book.
The school was willing to fund all of these events, and many more. I found no subtraction from my studies, so I managed to stay in the top four of every one of my classes, and I definitely wouldn't have considered myself a genius either. I just knew, by inspiration from friends and family and some teachers, that I was going to have to work if I wanted the results I was looking for.
The fact that I was able to achieve this greatly motivated me to work hard; I had the right paradigm to view education.
The main disadvantage to the school, though realistically you'd find it anywhere, is the repeated image you see mainly from 1st to 3rd year pupils, which creates two major divisions: Those who appear to care about their education, and those who don't. After third year there usually comes a level of maturity where people don't buy into this image as much because it becomes more of an independent journey, as opposed to one depending on the "scene" of which you are a part. This doesn't preclude anyone from making friends who they imagine they would get along with, though it does make it slightly more difficult.
I'm grateful for where the school has gotten me, and I'd recommend it to anyone living reasonably nearby, within an 8km radius.
