12. Sharing of Data with other schools
Applicants should be aware that section 66(6) of the Education (Admission to Schools) Act 2018 allows for the sharing of data between schools in order to facilitate the efficient admission of students. Section 66(6) allows a school to provide a patron or another board of management with a list of the students in relation to whom—
- an application for admission to the school has been received,
- an offer of admission to the school has been made, or
- an offer of admission to the school has been accepted.
The list may include any or all of the following:
- the date on which an application for admission was received by the school;
- the date on which an offer of admission was made by the school;
- the date on which an offer of admission was accepted by an applicant;
- a student’s personal details including his or her name, address, date of birth and personal public service number (within the meaning of section 262 of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005).
13.Waiting list in the event of oversubscription
In the event of there being more applications to the school year concerned than places available, a waiting list of students whose applications for admission to St Louis Secondary School, Dundalk were unsuccessful due to the school being oversubscribed will be compiled and will remain valid for the school year in which admission is being sought.
Placement on the waiting list of St Louis Secondary School, Dundalk is in the order of priority assigned to the students’ applications after the school has applied the selection criteria in accordance with this admission policy.
Offers of any subsequent places that become available for and during the school year in relation to which admission is being sought will be made to those students on the waiting list, in accordance with the order of priority in relation to which the students have been placed on the list.
14. Late Applications
All applications for admission received after the closing date as outlined in the annual admission notice will be considered and decided upon in accordance with our school’s admissions policy, the Education Admissions to School Act 2018 and any regulations made
under that Act.
Late applicants will be notified of the decision in respect of their application not later than three weeks after the date on which the school received the application. Late applicants will be offered a place if there is a place available. In the event that there is no place available, the name of the applicant will be added to the waiting list.
15. Procedures for admission of students to a year group other than First Year
and/or to any year group during the school year
Where parents wish to make an application for their son/daughter to a year group other than First Year or during the school year, they should in the first instance fill in an Application Form. An offer of a place can only be made if there is space in the year group in question. A decision on whether a place can be offered will be conveyed to the parents within 21 days of the initial application. Applications made for a place in Transition Year or Fifth Year in the forthcoming academic year will be deferred until the Principal has established the number of available spaces in each of these year groups, which will depend, in turn, on the number of existing Third Year students who progress to either year group. Such applications will be placed on a waiting list until the number of available places in the relevant year group has been established by the Principal.
Before accepting the offer of a place in the school the parents and their son/daughter may be invited to attend a meeting with the Principal and/or Deputy Principal to ascertain whether there is a place available in the particular subject classes required by their son/daughter. The fact that there may be a space in a year group would not automatically mean that there is a place available in a particular subject class at the level required by the student. This is because class size is limited in certain subjects. For this reason parents and their son/daughter are strongly recommended to attend a meeting with the Principal and/or Deputy Principal to ensure that a transfer to the school would be in the best interests of their son/daughter given the curricular provision, subject choices/levels available at the time.
Acceptance of an offer of a place by an applicant to a year group other than First Year or during the school year:
The parents must confirm their acceptance in writing of an offer of a place within three weeks of the date of the offer of a place.
In accepting an offer of admission from St Louis Secondary School, Dundalk, Louth, the parents must indicate—
- whether or not they have accepted an offer of admission for another school or schools. If they have accepted such an offer, they must also provide details of the offer or offers concerned and
- whether or not they have applied for and awaiting confirmation of an offer of admission from another school or schools, and if so, they must provide details of the other school or schools concerned.
Parents should be aware that failure to disclose this information on the acceptance of a place may lead to an offer being withdrawn by the school.
Circumstances in which offers of a place in a year group other than First Year or during the school year may not be made or may be withdrawn:
An offer of admission may not be made or may be withdrawn by St Louis Secondary School, Dundalk Louth, where—
- it is established that information contained in the application is false or misleading;
- an applicant fails to confirm acceptance of an offer of admission within three weeks of the date of the offer of a place;
- the parent of a student, when required by the Principal in accordance with section 23(4) of the Education (Welfare) Act 2000, fails to confirm in writing that the Code of Behaviour of the school is acceptable to him or her and that he or she shall make all reasonable efforts to ensure compliance with such code by the student;
- an applicant has failed to comply with the requirements of ‘acceptance of an offer’ as set out above;
- the admission of the applicant would pose a significant risk to the health and safety of the applicant or students and staff of the school, or risk significantly interfering with the right of other students to an appropriate education. The Board of Management has a duty of care to ensure as far as practicable the health and safety of the students and staff of the school. In addition, the Board of Management is required under section 15(1) of the Education Act 1998 to provide, or cause to be provided, an appropriate education for each student at the school for which that board has responsibility; or
- the application is made for a place in Transition Year or Fifth Year in the forthcoming
academic year before the Principal has established the number of available spaces in each of these year groups, which will depend on the number of existing Third Year students who progress to either year.
