St. Gerard’s is not just a school – it is a stimulating and vibrant community. A sense of family and belonging prevail across the whole campus from Montessori to Leaving Certificate and, on a daily basis, parents, teachers and pupils experience the warm, happy and inspiring atmosphere which is the hallmark of our school.
Entry to St. Gerard’s Junior School and Montessori Department is subject to an interview with the Headmistress and the availability of places. Should you be interested in your child attending St. Gerard’s Junior School or our Montessori please complete an Application Form (available online). Following receipt of an application form, we invite you to make an appointment to come and visit the school - where you will get a real sense of the St. Gerard’s educational and values in action.
Queries on admissions to St. Gerard’s Junior School should be directed to Ms. Stephanie Nicholson, Junior School Secretary, at 01-2393445.The right of admission to the Junior School rests ultimately with the Headmistress acting on behalf of the Board. The following criteria are considered in the allocation of places:
Download an application form for the Junior School here.
DOWNLOAD AN APPLICATION FORM FOR Montessori HERE.
There are three main entry points to the Junior School:
Many children commence their educational career in St. Gerard’s Junior School at age two and a half years - when they enter our Montessori Department. Typically, children spend two years in Montessori before transferring to our Junior Infant class - typically at age four and a half years.
Our Montessori Class is part of the national ECCE scheme.
Children may commence in our Junior Infant class from the age of four and a half years. For our Junior Infant class, our admissions policy is that children attending St. Gerard’s Montessori, and siblings of children already attending the school, have first preference on places in our Junior Infant class. We then take children from our Waiting List in order of date of application. Priority is also given to children of past pupils.
Our early years’ programme – in Montessori and Junior and Senior Infants offers an exciting and creative curriculum through which the foundations of learning and positive social interaction are laid. In bright and spacious classrooms, budding talents are encouraged, young minds stimulated, and independence, confidence and thoughtfulness are instilled through play-based, engaging and stimulating learning activities.
Each child is an active agent in his or her own learning. Great emphasis is placed on learning basic principles to provide a strong basis for language and mathematical skills.
Above all, the children are happy, learning is fun and lively and inquiring minds are nurtured and developed. This ensures that our young pupils have the perfect educational start in their formative years - years which lay the foundation for all future learning and success.
St. Gerard’s Junior School offers the opportunity for pupils to enter at Standard 6 level for their final year of primary education prior to progressing to our Senior School.
The transition from primary to post-primary education can represent a significant and challenging step in a child’s educational experience. Thus, consistency of approach and ethos between the primary and second-level school helps to ease the child’s progress from one level of education to the next.
Our pupils are fully at home in our state-of-the-art school campus, they know Senior School teachers and the Headmaster by name, they have an established cohort of class-mates and friends, and they are imbued with the St. Gerard’s philosophy and ethos. Thus, their transition from primary to second level is seamless and stress free allowing them to engage effectively and to perform to their full potential from day one in secondary school.
We are proud that our pupils excel at Senior School level – displaying academic prowess, confidence and empathy and entering willingly and enthusiastically into all aspects of school life.
Pupils who apply for entry into Standard 6 are invited to the school for assessment and interview one year prior to their proposed starting date. There is automatic transfer from the Junior School to the Senior School on the recommendation of the Headmistress.
