A School Like No Other

St. Columba’s College is a co-educational, Church of Ireland boarding school, perched on the edge of the Dublin Hills and overlooking the city of Dublin. We have a great sense of tradition, an enviable academic record, and a commitment to a very full and varied extracurricular programme, set in 140 acres of countryside.

With a total of 350 pupils, and with the majority of our academic staff living on the College site, we are a close-knit community, something which creates an intimate, caring atmosphere, where no pupils fall through the cracks. Our average class size is 15 pupils.

Pupils usually arrive in Form 1 (UK Year 8) but can come the following year. The Irish system means that pupils do the Junior Cycle exams at the end of Form 3 (Year 10), before entering the Transition Year, an enriching year of academic work, infused with work experience, service projects, and a variety of other imaginative additions, designed to broaden the education of our pupils, without the stress of public exams. In the last two years, the Irish Leaving Certificate consists of seven subjects and is a much broader academic experience for the pupils than the A Level system. Maths, English and a Modern Language are compulsory, while there is a free choice for the other four subjects (Irish pupils have to study Irish too). Our leavers go in fairly equal numbers to Irish, UK, or international universities.

Pupils achieve excellent results in the Leaving Certificate, but the College is at pains not to heap pressure on those taking public exams. We believe very strongly in a holistic education that puts value on all aspects of a child’s development: academic, physical, cultural, social, and spiritual. Daily, full-school chapel is an important part of our tradition and is a wonderful start to the busy day. The Church of Ireland ethos is very broad and inclusive of those from other backgrounds.

The large majority of our pupils are boarders in one of our seven boarding houses and we are committed to full-time boarding. The majority of our boarders choose to remain in over the weekends. We also have two dedicated day pupil houses. Sport takes place for all every day, while we also have Saturday morning school and a busy Saturday evening programme. Sunday is more relaxed and many pupils make use of our wonderful nine-hole golf course. In 2022 we opened our Golf Academy, which is run by a PGA Professional, based in our indoor studio. The opportunity for pupils to develop their golf at St. Columba’s is second to none in Ireland.

If you are looking for an immersive school experience for your child, be it day or boarding, in a very safe and nurturing environment, please come and visit this very special place. We look forward very much to welcoming you.