Admission Policy of St Louis Secondary School, Dundalk

1. Introduction


This Admission Policy complies with the requirements of the Education Act 1998,
the Education (Admission to Schools) Act 2018 and the Equal Status Act 2000. In
drafting this policy, the Board of Management of the school has consulted with school staff,
the school patron and with parents of children attending the school.


The policy was approved by the school patron on Monday 14th September 2020. It is
published on the school’s website www.stlouisdundalk.ie and will be made available in
hardcopy, on request, to any person who requests it.


The relevant dates and timelines for St Louis Secondary School, Dundalk admission process
are set out in the school’s annual admission notice which is published annually on the
school’s website at least one week before the commencement of the admission process for the
school year concerned.This policy must be read in conjunction with the annual admission
notice for the school year concerned.The application form for admission is published on the
school’s website www.stlouisdundalk.ie and will be made available in hardcopy on request to
any person who requests it.

2. Characteristic spirit and general objectives of the school

St Louis Secondary School , Dundalk is a Catholic all girls voluntary secondary school with a Catholic ethos under the trusteeship of Le Chéile Schools Trust.

The purpose of our Le Chéile / St Louis school is to provide an education that acknow
ledges and affirms the dignity and uniqueness of every human being as a child of God – “The glory of God is humanity fully alive” (St Irenaeus). It embraces the intellectual, physical, cultural, emotional, social, moral and spiritual growth of each student.

Our school seeks to build a learning community that welcomes, and witnesses to, the Gospel values of Jesus Christ, expressed through the lens of the Le Chéile Charter. The school draws on the richness of the religious and cultural heritage of the past and the charism of the Founders, Louis Bautain & Mére Thérese de la Croix of the Sisters St Louis, who began this school.

Our school is committed to creating a place of inclusivity, equality and openness, where
people can live with and be taught by one another, however diverse our experiences might be. It does not discriminate on religious grounds and is open to students from diverse backgrounds. It offers educational opportunities which promote excellence so that students can respond responsibly to their own lives, the lives of others and the earth, which is our
home.

The general objectives of all Le Chéile schools include:-

Welcome recognises the unique dignity and worth of each person.
Wisdom is the pursuit of a greater understanding and appreciation of the world.
Witness comes from the expression of Gospel values, in everyday life, and recognises that
every person is made in the image and likeness of God.

St Louis Secondary School
Mission Statement

As a Catholic school, St. Louis Secondary School, Dundalk, aims to educate the whole person and to
encourage the qualities of respect, truth, responsibility, happiness and excellence in a caring inclusive
atmosphere.

Aims of the school

To provide a social and academic environment which fosters learning
To strive to ensure that Christian attitudes and values are knit into the fabric of school life
To provide through the curriculum, teaching methods and allocation of resources, teaching and learning situations which enable all pupils to:


  • Develop their intellectual capacity to the full.
  • Stimulate their curiosity and imagination.
  • Develop their aesthetic awareness; assist in their physical and moral development, and acquire an appetite for further knowledge and skills in later life.To prepare each pupil to be a responsible member of our democratic society, equipped to play an active part in its development.

    To be a caring community in which the individual is given a sense of significance and importance and a consciousness of the needs of others.

    To be a participating partner in the wider community, welcoming parents and other friends of the school to share in our work.

3. Admission Statement

St Louis Secondary School , Dundalk will not discriminate in its admission of a student to the school on any of the following:

  1. the gender ground of the student or the applicant in respect of the student concerned,
  2. the civil status ground of the student or the applicant in respect of the student
    concerned,
  3. the family status ground of the student or the applicant in respect of the student
    concerned,
  4. the sexual orientation ground of the student or the applicant in respect of the student
    concerned,
  5. the religion ground of the student or the applicant in respect of the student concerned,
  6. the disability ground of the student or the applicant in respect of the student
    concerned,
  7. the ground of race of the student or the applicant in respect of the student concerned,
  8. the Traveller community ground of the student or the applicant in respect of the
    student concerned, or
  9. the ground that the student or the applicant in respect of the student concerned has
    special educational needs

As per section 61(3) of the Education Act 1998, ‘civil status ground’, ‘disability ground’,
‘discriminate’, ‘family status ground’, ‘gender ground’, ‘ground of race’, ‘religion ground’,
‘sexual orientation ground’ and ‘Traveller community ground’ shall be construed in
accordance with section 3 of the Equal Status Act 2000.

St Louis Secondary School, Dundalk is an all-girls school and does not discriminate where it refuses to admit a boy applying for admission to this school.

St Louis Secondary School, Dundalk is a school whose objective is to provide education in an environment which promotes certain religious values and does not discriminate where it
admits a student of Catholic in preference to others.

St Louis Secondary School, Dundalk is a school whose objective is to provide education in an environment which promotes certain religious values and does not discriminate where it refuses to admit as a student a person who is not Catholic and it is proved that the refusal is essential to maintain the ethos of the school.

4. Categories of Special Educational Needs catered for in the school/special class.

We do not operate a special class but we are an inclusive school and welcome applications
from parents of students with special educational needs.

5. Admission of Students

The normal conditions relating to reaching the age of 12 years on the 1 st of January of the
school year and “as a rule, the completion of a full course of primary education or its
equivalent” are relevant to any application.

This school shall admit each student seeking admission except where –

  1. the school is oversubscribed (please see section 6 below for further details)
  2. a 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

St Louis Secondary School Dundalk provides education exclusively for girls and may refuse to admit as a student a person who is not of the gender provided for by this school.

St Louis Secondary School Dundalk is a Catholic School and may refuse to admit as a student a person who is not of Catholic faith where it is proved that the refusal is essential
to maintain the ethos of the school.

6. Oversubscription

In the event that the school is oversubscribed, the school will, when deciding on applications
for admission, apply the following selection criteria in the order listed below to those
applications that are received within the timeline for receipt of applications as set out in the
school’s annual admission notice:



Selection criteria:

  1. Students whose names were placed on a list maintained by the school prior to 1st
    February 2020 for the purposes of allocating places in the school year concerned, in order of their priority on that list.
  2. Sisters of students currently attending the school.
  3. Daughters of current serving staff.
  4. Sisters of past students.
  5. Children or Grandchildren of past pupils. Please note: up to 25% of students only permitted in any given year.
  6. Other applicants.

In the event that there are two or more students tied for a place or places in any of the
selection criteria categories above (the number of applicants exceeds the number of
remaining places), the following arrangements will apply:

A lottery will be used to decide who will gain the place.

7.  What will not be considered or taken into account

In accordance with section 62(7)(e) of the Education Act, the school will not consider or take into account any of the following in deciding on applications for admission or when placing a student on a waiting list for admission to the school:

  1. a student’s prior attendance at a pre-school or pre-school service, including naíonraí,
    the payment of fees or contributions (howsoever described) to the school;
  2. (other than in relation to a fee charging school or a plc or further education and
    training course run by a school in respect of those courses)
  3. a student’s academic ability, skills or aptitude;
  4. (other than in relation to: admission to (a) a special school or (b) a special class insofar as it is necessary in order to ascertain whether or not the student has the
    category of special educational needs concerned and/or admission to an Irish language school, in accordance with the provisions of section 62(9) of the act
  5. the occupation, financial status, academic ability, skills or aptitude of a student’s
    parents;
  6. a requirement that a student, or his or her parents, attend an interview, open day or
    other meeting as a condition of admission; (other than in the case of admission to the
    residential element of a boarding school or to a plc or further education and training
    course run by a school)
  7. a student’s connection to the school by virtue of a member of his or her family
    attending or having previously attended the school;(other than, in the case of the
    school wishing to include a selection criterion based on (1) siblings of a student
    attending or having attended the school and/or (2) parents or grandparents of a student having attended the school.
  8. In relation to (2) parents and grandparents having attended, a school may only apply
    this criterion to a maximum of 25% of the available spaces as set out in the school’s
    annual admission notice).
  9. the date and time on which an application for admission was received by the school,
  10. This is subject to the application being received at any time during the period
    specified for receiving applications set out in the annual admission notice of the
    school for the school year concerned.This is also subject to the school making offers
    based on existing waiting lists (up until 31st January 2025 only).

8.  Decisions on applications

All decisions on applications for admission to St Louis Secondary School , Dundalk will be
based on the following:

  • Our school’s admission policy
  • The school’s annual admission notice (where applicable)
  • The information provided by the applicant in the school’s official application form received during the period specified in our annual admission notice for receiving applications

(Please see section 14 below in relation to applications received outside of the admissions
period and section 15 below in relation to applications for places in years other than the
intake group.)

Selection criteria that are not included in our school admission policy will not be used to
make a decision on an application for a place in our school.


9.  Notifying applicants of decisions

Applicants will be informed in writing as to the decision of the school, within the timeline
outlined in the annual admissions notice.

If a student is not offered a place in our school, the reasons why they were not offered a place will be communicated in writing to the applicant, including, where applicable, details of the student’s ranking against the selection criteria and details of the student’s place on the waiting list for the school year concerned.

Applicants will be informed of the right to seek a review/right of appeal of the school’s
decision (see section 18 below for further details).

10. Acceptance of an offer of a place by an applicant

In accepting an offer of admission from St Louis Secondary School , Dundalk you must indicate…

  1. whether or not you have accepted an offer of admission for another school or schools. If you have accepted such an offer, you must also provide details of the offer or offers
    concerned and
  2. whether or not you have applied for and awaiting confirmation of an offer of admission from another school or schools, and if so, you must provide details of the other school or schools concerned.

Applicants 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.



11. Circumstances in which offers 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 where—

  1. it is established that information contained in the application is false or misleading;
  2. an applicant fails to confirm acceptance of an offer of admission within three weeks of the date of the offer of a place;
  3. 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;
  4. an applicant has failed to comply with the requirements of ‘acceptance of an offer’ as set out above;
  5. 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
  6. 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.

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—

  1. an application for admission to the school has been received,
  2. an offer of admission to the school has been made, or
  3. an offer of admission to the school has been accepted.

The list may include any or all of the following:

  1. the date on which an application for admission was received by the school;
  2. the date on which an offer of admission was made by the school;
  3. the date on which an offer of admission was accepted by an applicant;
  4. 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—

  1. 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
  2. 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—

  1. it is established that information contained in the application is false or misleading;
  2. an applicant fails to confirm acceptance of an offer of admission within three weeks of the date of the offer of a place;
  3. 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;
  4. an applicant has failed to comply with the requirements of ‘acceptance of an offer’ as set out above;
  5. 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
  6. 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.

Oversubscription to the year group other than First Year:

In the event of there being more applications to the year group other than First Year than places available, a waiting list of students, whose application for admission to the particular year group has been refused, will be compiled and will remain valid for the school year in which admission is being sought.

Placement on the waiting list will be in the order of priority assigned to the students’ applications after the school has applied the selection criteria in accordance with this admission policy see Section 6 above. If there are two or more students in any of the selection criteria categories set out in Section 6 above, then the position on the waiting list (for places in a year group other than First year) will be determined by a lottery process overseen by the Principal, Deputy Principal and an independent observer appointed by the Board of Management.

Offers of any subsequent places in the year group other than First Year that become available during the school year 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.

Sharing of Data with other schools:

Applicants should note that the provisions of Section 12 above relating to the sharing of data with other schools will apply in all cases where an application is made to a year group other than First Year or during the school year.

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—

  1. an application for admission to the school has been received,
  2. an offer of admission to the school has been made, or
  3. an offer of admission to the school has been accepted.

The list may include any or all of the following:

  1. the date on which an application for admission was received by the school;
  2. the date on which an offer of admission was made by the school;
  3. the date on which an offer of admission was accepted by an applicant;
  4. 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).




16. Declaration in relation to the non-charging of fees

The board of St Louis Secondary School, Dundalk or any persons acting on its behalf shall
not, except in accordance with section 64 of the Education (Admission to Schools) Act 2018, charge fees for or seek payment or contributions (howsoever described) as a condition of-

(a) an application for admission of a student to the school, or
(b) the admission or continued enrolment of a student in the school.

17. Arrangements regarding students not attending religious instruction

The following are the school’s arrangements for students, where the parents or in the case of a student who has reached the age of 18 years, the student, who has requested that the student attend the school without attending religious instruction in the school. These arrangements will not result in a reduction in the school day of such students:

A parent of a student, or a student who has reached the age of 18, who wishes to attend
St Louis Secondary School, Dundalk, without attending religious instruction, should make a written request to the Principal.A meeting will then be arranged with the parent or the
student, as the case may be, to discuss how the request might be accommodated by the
school.



18.Reviews/appeals

Review of decisions by the board of Management

The parent of the student, or in the case of a student who has reached the age of 18 years, the student, may request the board to review a decision to refuse admission. Such requests must be made in accordance with Section 29C of the Education Act 1998.

The timeline within which such a review must be requested and the other requirements
applicable to such reviews are set out in the procedures determined by the Minister under
section 29B of the Education Act 1998 which are published on the website of the Department of Education and Skills.

The board will conduct such reviews in accordance with the requirements of the procedures
determined under Section 29B and with section 29C of the Education Act 1998.

Note: Where an applicant has been refused admission due to the school being
oversubscribed, the applicant must request a review of that decision by the board of
management prior to making an appeal under section 29 of the Education Act 1998.

Where an applicant has been refused admission due to a reason other than the school being
oversubscribed, the applicant may request a review of that decision by the board of
management prior to making an appeal under section 29 of the Education Act 1998.



Right of appeal

Under Section 29 of the Education Act 1998, the parent of the student, or in the case of a
student who has reached the age of 18 years, the student, may appeal a decision of this school to refuse admission.

An appeal may be made under Section 29 (1)(c)(i) of the Education Act 1998 where the
refusal to admit was due to the school being oversubscribed.

An appeal may be made under Section 29 (1)(c)(ii) of the Education Act 1998 where the
refusal to admit was due a reason other than the school being oversubscribed.

Where an applicant has been refused admission due to the school being oversubscribed, the
applicant must request a review of that decision by the board of management prior to making an appeal under section 29 of the Education Act 1998. (see Review of decisions by the Board of Management)

Where an applicant has been refused admission due to a reason other than the school being
oversubscribed, the applicant may request a review of that decision by the board of
management prior to making an appeal under section 29 of the Education Act 1998. (see
Review of decisions by the Board of Management)

Appeals under Section 29 of the Education Act 1998 will be considered and determined by an independent appeals committee appointed by the Minister for Education and Skills.
The timeline within which such an appeal must be made and the other requirements
applicable to such appeals are set out in the procedures determined by the Minister under
section 29B of the Education Act 1998 which are published on the website of the Department of Education and Skills.