The number of pupils attending some of the best-known free second-level schools in Dublin has fallen dramatically in the past 20 year as parents opt for fee-paying or grind schools.
New Department of Education figures, tracking school enrolment since 1985, reveal a drop of up to 70 per cent in the numbers attending public schools.
Last night Minister for Education Mary Hanafin expressed her concern about the trend. The fall-off in enrolment was no reflection on the quality of education in these schools, where pupils often had lower pupil/teacher ratios and outstanding teachers, she said.
She expressed concern that many excellent schools were suffering a fall in numbers despite offering an excellent education.
She said the drift to private education could be traced directly to the abolition of university fees a decade ago. Many parents who had put money aside for third-level fees were using it for private education, she said.
The Minister said she was working to ensure that non fee-paying schools were in no way disadvantaged. New science and sports facilities, for example, had recently become available in two south city schools which had seen their numbers decline.
The new figures show that demand for places at virtually all of the 37 fee-paying schools in Dublin has surged. The numbers attending grind schools are also at record levels.
Hundreds of unfilled places are now available in many of the best-known and most widely respected public schools in Dublin.
These include O'Connells in the north-inner city where pupils numbers are down by 58 per cent; St Paul's, Raheny (down 35 per cent); and Oatlands College, Stillorgan (down 35 per cent).
Pupil numbers at Sion Hill in Blackrock, where the Minister was a teacher in the 1980s, are down 61 per cent.
Enrolment figures have risen significantly at many private schools where fees of over €4,000 per year are common.
These include Belvedere College (where numbers are up 19 per cent); St Andrew's, Blackrock (up 49 per cent) and Gonzaga College (up 45 per cent).
While changing demographic patterns are a factor in some areas, education sources say the abolition of third-level fees and the overall rise in income levels are major factors behind the trend. Right across the city, there has been a striking decline in the numbers attending traditionally well-regarded non fee-paying schools. These include St Benildus, Rathfarnham (down 25 per cent); Coláiste Mhuire, Parnell Square (down 52 per cent); CBS North Brunswick Street (down 39 per cent) and CBS Synge Street (down 57 per cent).
