Presentation Brothers College Cork — 2027 entry, selection priorities and fees

Presentation Brothers College, commonly called PBC or Pres, is a Catholic boys’ day school on the Mardyke in Cork. It charges fees and follows the Irish secondary curriculum from First Year through the Leaving Certificate.

It is distinct from Christian Brothers College Cork on Sidney Hill. Both are fee-charging boys’ schools with a Catholic ethos, but they have different trustees, admissions policies and journeys. Compare the details rather than treating them as interchangeable.

The programme and ethos

PBC operates under the Presentation Brothers Schools Trust. Religious education has a central place in school life. The admissions policy explains how a family can request that a pupil not attend religious instruction; parents should discuss the practical arrangement with the principal.

Pupils complete a six-year secondary programme:

• First to Third Year form the Junior Cycle.
• Fourth Year is Transition Year, a programme emphasising personal development and learning beyond examination courses.
• Fifth and Sixth Year lead to the Leaving Certificate.

The current curriculum page lists Irish, English and mathematics as senior-cycle requirements. Pupils also take French, German or Latin and select three further examination subjects. Confirm that the intended combination can be timetabled before accepting a transfer place.

First Year entry for September 2027

The annual admission notice publishes 112 places and a compressed decision timetable:

Step	2027–28 date
Applications open	1 October 2026
Applications close	21 October 2026 at 10:00
Decisions issued from	22 October 2026
Acceptance and deposit deadline	23 October 2026 at 10:00

The school’s HTML page incorrectly calls 21 October 2026 a Tuesday. It is a Wednesday, as the PDF states. Use the date and deadline rather than the stray weekday.

The 2026–27 intake received 187 applications for 112 places, and 47 names were placed on the waiting list. That is historical demand information, not a prediction that the same number will apply this year.

What happens if applications exceed places

PBC does not select First Year pupils by academic test. Its admissions policy applies priorities to timely applications:

1. Brothers of current or former pupils, and sons of permanent staff or staff on contracts of indefinite duration. These share the first priority category.
2. Pupils from Presentation primary schools within the Presentation Brothers Schools Trust. If this category is too large, a supervised random selection applies; unsuccessful pupils continue to the remaining allocation.
3. Sons and grandsons of former pupils, limited to 25% of all First Year places. Excess applicants also enter a supervised random selection.
4. Remaining places are allocated randomly under Board of Management oversight.

For the former-pupil priority, the former pupil must have completed formal education at PBC through one of the stated final certificates. A family connection does not mean that every applicant automatically receives a place.

The policy says application timing within the published window does not affect priority. Late applications are considered under the policy and get a place only if one remains; otherwise the pupil joins the waiting list. That list follows the policy ranking and remains valid for the year of intended admission.

An offer can be withdrawn if the family misses the deadline, provides false or misleading information, omits required information about offers from other schools, or fails to pay the deposit. Read the official form carefully because the acceptance interval is unusually short.

Transfers after First Year

Other-year and mid-year entry depend on a vacancy in the year, class and subject groups. The school asks for previous-school details, reasons for leaving and records. Sixth Year transfers are generally not considered to be in the pupil’s best interests because of the final examination programme.

This is not a simple rolling-admission promise. Ask which subjects align and whether the school can support the proposed change.

Fees, deposit and bursary

The public payment schedule does not state the current tuition or deposit amount. It does establish several important conditions:

• The deposit is non-refundable and is due in October to secure a place for the following September.
• It is part-payment of the first-year fee, so it must not be added again to full first-year tuition.
• Fees can be paid annually in September, in equal September and January instalments, or by six direct-debit payments from October to March.
• Fees must be current for a pupil to attend.

Request the current tuition, deposit, refund and withdrawal terms in writing. The school’s 2026–27 parent page also says fee-charging status excludes its pupils from the government’s free Junior Certificate book scheme. Uniform, compulsory PE clothing and books therefore need a separate budget.

The admissions page advertises an Edmund Rice bursary for pupils starting in September 2027 who could not otherwise afford PBC. Ask how many awards exist, what costs they cover and whether an unsuccessful bursary applicant remains in the general admissions process. Do not assume the bursary is full or automatic.

Our view

The 24-hour interval between decisions beginning and the stated acceptance deadline deserves advance planning. Have the deposit amount, terms and alternative-school position clear before 22 October.

Compare PBC with CBC for ethos, subjects, support and the actual commute. The Cork guide gives the wider local context.

Friendly orientation, not an application. Dates, fees, and programme details move. Confirm everything with the school.