St. Andrew's College, Dublin

IrishSchoolInfoBox
name = Saint Andrew's College
irish_name = Coláiste Naomh Aindriú



motto = "Ardens Sed Virens"
Latin for 'Burning Yet
Flourishing'
established = 1894
location = Booterstown, County Dublin,
Republic of Ireland
students = 920 [ [http://archives.tcm.ie/businesspost/2005/05/29/story5177.asp] Business Post Article on fee paying schools of Ireland]
keyprole = Principal
keypname = Arthur Godsil
free_label = Staff
free = approx. 200
homepage = http://www.sac.ie/

St. Andrew's College (Irish: "Coláiste Naomh Aindriú") - is a co-educational inter-denominational, international day school, founded in 1894 by members of the Presbyterian community, now located in Booterstown, Dublin, Ireland.

St. Andrew's offers a very wide range of academic subjects, sports, cultural and other extracurricular activities, and organises major student events such as the annual Arts Festival, the Model European Parliament and the Model United Nations (SAIMUN) all of which attract participants from Ireland and abroad.

The school colours are blue and white. The school often uses gold as an away colour, for occasions when the school is playing a game against a school with a very similar blue and white strip.

The school introduced a controversial policy of using fingerprint technology to monitor attendance, the scheme has been abandoned since although the scanning terminals are still installed. [ [http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/05/31/irish_fingerprint_scanners/ Irish college deploys fingerprint scanners | The Register ] ]

History

Foundation

Originally founded as a boys' secondary school at the end of the nineteenth century by members of the Presbyterian community, St. Andrew's College celebrated its centenary in 1994. It was on 8 January 1894 that the College opened its doors at 21 St. Stephen's Green in the centre of Victorian Dublin. This was to be the first of its three locations.

Under its young and energetic headmaster, W W Haslett, an Ulsterman, it grew rapidly from its original intake of 64 students. By the end of 1894 there were 203 boys in the school.

Troubled times

From the outset, the school was non-sectarian in character. Only in the opening year were Presbyterians in the majority. During the last years of the Union, numbers grew, reaching a peak of 380 by 1922. However, along with many Protestant institutions, it went through a period of crisis during the early years of the Irish Free State, following the turmoil of revolution, civil war and reconstruction.

Wellington Place

However, at the beginning of 1937 a move to new premises in Wellington Place, Clyde Road, along with a determined effort by past pupils and parents to stave off closure or amalgamation saw a revival in the fortunes of the College.

tructure

Evolution

Over the years the College has evolved in many ways, and is now a flourishing international, interdenominational, co-educational school of approximately 1,200 pupils and just over 100 teachers. It offers a very wide range of academic subjects, sports, cultural and other extracurricular activities, organizes major student events such as the annual Arts Festival, the Model European Parliament and the Model United Nations (SAIMUN) all of which attract participants from Ireland and abroad.

Accreditations

Since 1984 St. Andrew's has been fully accredited by the European Council of International Schools and the New England Association of Schools and Colleges, the only school in Ireland to hold this distinction.

tudents

St. Andrew's is one of Ireland's most prestigious schools. Its status as an internationally accredited school makes it a very popular for the children of foreign diplomats. Students enjoy lower than average class sizes and, in state examinations, St. Andrew's students consistently perform well above the national average.

International Baccalaureate

St. Andrew's is the only school in Ireland to offer the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Programme, which certifies students to attend colleges and universities around the world. Only a small number (usually around 35 students) of the school's students are in the IB programme. IB rooms provide facilities for the programme's students, to which they otherwise might not have access.

Activities

port

Participation in sporting activities is encouraged by the college, while being recognised as only one of a number of extracurricular activities.

The main winter sports are Rugby Union for boys, and hockey, basketball and badminton for boys and girls. Participation in sport is compulsory for first and second year students (although sanctions are not enforced). Participation is optional for senior students.

The Senior Rugby team competes in the Leinster Schools Senior Cup (which the school last won in 1922). The 2006/2007 season was the most successful in recent memory, the team were runners up in the Leinster Schools Senior League. The College's Field hockey team has performed strongly in the last decade with the senior girls team winning the Leinster Cup in 2003, 2004 and 2006.

Aid work

The school had an extensive programme to help those less well off. Each year a group of transition year students raise money for Uganda and then visit the country. The majority of funds go to Kisiizi. In the summer of 2006 fifth year students visited Zambia to build a house for a homeless family. Every Christmas, each class makes a hamper which is then donated to the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, who in turn distribute to the needy in time for Christmas. The school's philanthropic nature has been praised by many, including Mary Hanafin .

Model United Nations

Model United Nations (MUN) is a very popular after school activity for students in the senior school. Each year, groups of students are chosen to form delegations which meet three times per week outside of school hours to practice debating resolutions. These students then travel to two international conferences: the Royal Russell MUN in Croydon, UK, and The Hague International MUN in The Hague, Netherlands.

St. Andrew's has a particular legacy at the Royal Russell MUN where they have recently had more resolutions passed than any other school. St. Andrew's also hosts its own conference, the St. Andrew's International Model United Nations (SAIMUN). The conference is one of the school's most high-profile annual events.

It reached a high point in 2002 when John Hume, Nobel Peace Prize winner and former leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party, made an address to the assembly. The conference is hosted in Jury's Hotel in Ballsbridge, where a large number of the school's students participate along with students from other schools from around the world. The 2007 conference was the last to be held at the Jury's Hotel in Ballsbridge due to the hotel being sold. The 2008 conference was be held in the Royal Marine Hotel in Dun Laoghaire The week before Easter (Tuesday to [Good] Friday as the Monday was St. Patrick's Day)

External links

* [http://www.sac.ie/ St. Andrew's College] - official website
* [http://www.ratemyteachers.ie/schools/ireland/blackrock/st_andrews_college Rate my teacher] - Rate My teacher website.

Notes