Peak

As we are looking at a move to Bray/Wicklow area I can't help noticing the amount of private schools!!! Our children are very fortunate here in Liverpool as they go to extremely good schools and as i've scoured the internet and all school websites the standard of the cirriculum and the facilites are way below par unless you go to private school We really need any suggestions on the best secondary school with the best reputation in the Bray area or surrounding areas so we can have a good look when my husband visits soon. Our curriculum is far better and more extensive but that might be because labour invested so much money into education and schools but unfortunately things are definately set to change with tories in power now
Look forward to some constructive comments

Londonuck

Bray is kind of run down these days and in need of regeneration. I drove a cab and would give Bray a wide birth later on in the night. Its like a small Blackpool.

Im in Greystones, about 8kms south and its much much nicer. There are several schools in the area. Have you looked at areas along the Dart and also the excellent Luas? Both are good links into Dublin, especially the Luas. Wicklow is a lovely county but the transport system in Ireland can be pretty poor and frustrating. Getting on those rail links is essential if you will be getting work in Dublin where any jobs that are available will be. Also for the kids cos it will open up many more schools in Blackrock, Killiney, Dalkey etc...

I think I saw our local bus the other day. Shergar was driving it.

michaleen oge

reading londonucks post,and with him mentioning schools in blackrock,reminded me of when I was a child. I went to St.John the Baptist Boys National school in blackrock in the very early 50's. and what an experience it was.
Our headmaster was Mr.McDonald,he had a wooden leg and a drink problem. I don't think they were connected. Wiggy Bennett(so-called because he had a very badly fitted wig)was our under master. We used to bet on the sweat running from under his wig to his chin,which drop would touch his chin first..our music teacher was a Mr. Mongey. He must have been good because I can still remember some of the words to the songs he taught us. Mind you,he did thrash the nearest pupil with his swishy cane if he got any notes wrong.
Saving the best for last,,,,Mr.Concannon. The name still sends chills down my spine. Does anyone out there remember the Christian Brothers? I mean the OLD Christian Brothers? Sadistic,torturous,diabolical,and these were their good points. Well Mr. Concannon was thrown out of the C.B. for being TOO sadistic....He was tall and slim and dark,and if anyone wanted to know what the devil was to look like,all they had to do was look at Mr.Concannon.
The school was square and one-storied. When we finished our dinner break(spent anywhere around the grounds), one of the teachers would come out onto the steps and ring a big hand bell. We used to hide the bell a lot so the sight of the teacher chasing a hundred or so pupils around the school still makes me laugh to remember it. All that would stop when Mr. McDonald would limp through the gates,face like thunder(his usual face),and we would kill each other in the race to get through the door.
Some of the good points..the sight of Mr.McDonald striving to hold his door closed against the battering of an enraged parent(hoping to get in to batter HIM!!). Maccer used to discipline us with his wooden leg,he took it off and hit us with it,while balancing against a table. Truth.
But they were glorious days. The friends I made in that school are still my friends today. And I think they educated us to the best of their ability. And don't be afraid,I think the schooling system out there has changed(and not for the better but that is only my opinion).

Londonuck

Haha wish i'd got down to Ladbrokes and stuck a cockle on that!

michaleen oge

It's a sin to bet. C.B's taught me that!!!!!

Chi_town

If you are unhappy with the schools, I am wondering why you are moving? The curriculum is a state curriculum and will not differ between state and public schools. You alsio don't stand a chance of getting your child into the 'best' secondary schools as they have wait lists from birth,
.
I would stay put if I was feeling that negative about my children's education.

Londonuck

Cant wait to read the Memoirs of a Blackrock Salty Old Seadog.

michaleen oge

aaarrrr jim lad, one of these days I will tell e the tale of me da,me granda and the monkey.......all true.....aaarrrrr

roamer25

You'll not last long in Ireland if you walk about with that superior attitude!

I have to laugh at the irony of your post - from Liverpool to Bray is a move up!
Why are you moving there if you think it's so below your high standards?

michaleen oge

methinks original post was a blurb for nu-lab?????

Londonuck

I was going to write about Bray but dont want to come across as too negative. Little Blackpool, without the sophistication. (joke at the end btw)

Its hard getting the right answers you're looking for about Ireland at the moment. We're all a little fed up with the place.

michaleen oge

bray has always had a bit of a rep mate. I remember going to the International dance hall there in the early 60's. there was always trouble either in the hall or outside on the streets. my mate,pascal burke,had a snooker hall in bray(he is dead now r.i.p.). perhaps you know it? and of course my best mate still lives in bray, somewhere on mountain view drive....
we had to walk home to dun laoghaire from the international on many an occassion because of not being allowed on to the last bus....happy days.

Londonuck

My Dad used to take us to a snooker hall back in the 70's when we'd finally spent all our pocket money in the arcades below the head. Wonder was it that hall.

I always dropped off and got out of Bray, back to Greystones when cabbing. It is jumping down the front most weekends. There is a superb pub, the Harbour Bar in Bray.

Compared with half the holes in London it doesnt even come near for aggro, its just a bit more likely than a lot areas here.

michaleen oge

toot true there about london,mate. a jungle if there ever was one...and I do believe the snooker hall you mentioned was the one that Pascal owned. My brother was a good snooker pro during the hey-day of snooker,the early 80's. He played with alex and dennis for the combined ireland team who won the guinness world championship three times(then the wpbsa changed the rules to stop it happening again).
The Harbour bar in Bray may be the one my brother took me to once when he lived in bray....did it open out onto the slip-way and was there loads of things hanging from the ceiling(starship enterprise etc???). a real eccentrics bar. my brother fitted in well.
when we say that bray has a bit of a rep, it is a bit of an IRISH rep,not on the same league as london or any of the big cities in the uk. I am looking forward to visiting the place again I can tell you. ciow...(showing off there).

austinallegro

I lived in Greystones and went to school at St. Gerards in Bray in the mid 1970s. You can look at St. Gerards which was excellent. St. Gerards back then was a feeder for Blackrock and was really good at gee'ing up badly motivated kids like myself. It had just turned co-ed when I got there.

Vis-a-vis quality of education in England v Ireland. 1) (Nu)Labour can f**k off 2) that depends on the parents, kids and individual schools.

BTW, Greystones was a fabulous place to live during the 1970's as well. I really enjoyed it. Drive down there and have a look.

John.