St Andrew’s College Dublin: Irish day school with Leaving Certificate and IB routes

St Andrew’s College Dublin is a fee-paying, co-educational day school in Booterstown. It has a Junior School from K1 to P6 and a Senior School from First to Sixth Year.

Its main academic distinction is the final-stage choice. Pupils can take Ireland’s Leaving Certificate or the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme. The IB replaces the Leaving Certificate rather than supplementing it.

The College has a Presbyterian foundation and describes itself as interdenominational. That history still affects admission priorities. It is important for applicants of every faith to read the current policy.

The boarding department closed in 1995. Families must therefore arrange a Dublin home, transport and any required guardian independently.

See our guides to Dublin and education in Ireland for the wider context.

School divisions and qualifications

The Junior School follows Ireland’s eight-year primary cycle. K1 and K2 correspond to Junior and Senior Infants. P1 to P6 correspond to First through Sixth Class.

A child must have reached the fourth birthday by 30 May in the admission year. Teaching is mainly in English, with Irish and the broader Irish Primary Curriculum.

The Senior School starts with the three-year Junior Cycle. Fourth Year is Transition Year. Pupils then choose the two-year Leaving Certificate or IB Diploma route for Fifth and Sixth Year.

Older official policies describe Transition Year as compulsory. The current programme and fee pages still place it in Fourth Year, but the February 2026 admissions policy does not repeat the word “compulsory.”

Families for whom this matters should obtain written confirmation that no alternative route is available.

The IB route

The IB Diploma comprises six subjects, with three normally taken at higher level and three at standard level. The core includes Theory of Knowledge, the Extended Essay and Creativity, Activity, Service.

The 2026/27 options document lists a constrained school timetable rather than every possible IB subject. Additional languages and online subjects may be possible at extra cost.

Pupils who already study Irish continue ordinary-level Leaving Certificate Irish for two mornings each week, according to the current options document. An official Irish exemption may change that position.

Current St Andrew’s pupils apply to the IB coordinator during Fourth Year. The live page says 20 January, while the February 2026 admissions policy says 30 January. Ask which deadline controls.

An external applicant must first secure admission to the College through the normal Senior School route. The IB office cannot admit a pupil to the school.

IB selection considers academic standing, motivation and capacity for independent study. The College reserves the right to decide which Senior Cycle course is available to an admitted pupil.

English, Irish and religion

English is the main teaching language. Junior pupils normally study Irish, although school pages describe EAL or US Studies during Irish lessons for some non-Irish pupils.

An applicant with an official Irish exemption should provide it. For the Leaving Certificate route, the school says Irish is required unless the Department has granted an exemption.

St Andrew’s promotes a Christian ethos rooted in the Presbyterian tradition. Its policies allow refusal of a non-Presbyterian, non-mainstream-Protestant or non-Reformed-Christian applicant only where necessary to maintain that ethos.

First and Second Year pupils take a weekly course called Critical Thought, Behaviour and Belief. The Senior Admissions Policy says this is not religious instruction and does not permit an opt-out.

Leaving Certificate Religious Education is optional. Families should ask separately about Junior School religious activities because its policy does not publish an equivalent withdrawal rule.

First Year admission for 2027

The school’s live admissions page gives the 2027/28 First Year application window as 1–21 October 2026. It says the online application link will appear on 1 October.

As of 4 September 2026, the school had not published the 2027/28 Annual Admissions Notice. The number of places, decision date and acceptance deadline are therefore not yet available.

The previous notice offered 167 First Year places for 2026/27. It also recorded 480 applications for the earlier 2025/26 intake. Those figures show demand, but they do not predict the 2027 cohort.

The February 2026 policy applies these priorities in order when timely applications exceed available places:

1. Presbyterian pupils at a recognised feeder school, then other Presbyterian pupils.
2. Mainstream Protestant or Reformed-Christian pupils at a recognised feeder, then those outside a feeder.
3. Children of permanent staff, then pupils who completed P6 in St Andrew’s Junior School.
4. Siblings of current St Andrew’s pupils.
5. Other pupils attending a recognised feeder school.
6. Children or grandchildren of former pupils, capped at 25% of First Year places.
7. Children whose parents are relocating to Ireland from abroad within three months of application.
8. All other applicants with a completed form for that entry year.

A random selection resolves a tie within any category. The Principal conducts it in the presence of the Board chair. Application time within the formal window is not a priority.

The Board may reserve 10 places each year for international pupils. The policy does not define “international pupil.” Unused places return to the general pool.

Church priority requires the prescribed affiliation form, certified by the relevant minister and returned on time. A family’s own description of affiliation is not enough.

The current payment portal lists a €120 administration fee. The admissions page says a family need not pay it again if it was previously paid for the same applicant.

Junior School admission

Junior School applications do not roll forward from year to year. The school describes K1 and P3 as its main entry points.

K1 offers are normally made in March, about 18 months before entry. P3 offers are normally made in December, about eight months before entry. Other classes depend on vacancies.

Applicants outside K1 must submit current school reports. K1 applicants may need a preschool reference. The application cannot proceed if parents refuse permission for the College to contact a current or former school.

The Junior policy orders applicants as follows:

1. Presbyterian children.
2. Mainstream Protestant or Reformed-Christian children.
3. Siblings of current or former St Andrew’s pupils.
4. Children of permanent staff.
5. Children of former pupils.
6. Grandchildren of former pupils.
7. Children whose parents are relocating from abroad within three months.
8. All other applicants.

Completion of P6 in the Junior School gives priority under Senior category 3(b). It does not guarantee a First Year place. A pupil who leaves before completing P6 loses that priority.

Late and later-year entry

Late Senior School applications are considered after the formal window. The policy says a decision should issue within three weeks. An unsuccessful applicant joins that school year’s waiting list.

Entry to another year, or after a school year has started, requires a suitable vacancy. Subject choices, subject levels and class capacity can prevent a workable placement.

The school reviews attendance, educational progress, behaviour and relevant assessments. A meeting is used to explain the College and assess alignment with its ethos and policies.

The general policy says there is no entrance examination to qualify for admission. That does not remove the separate academic assessment for entry to the IB programme.

Learning support and EAL

The Senior School’s Additional Educational Needs department describes specialist tuition, early identification and liaison with families and teachers. Short-term support may also be available for pupils struggling with curriculum demands.

Provision remains subject to resources and capacity. Families should send current reports before accepting and ask for the proposed timetable, staffing and examination arrangements in writing.

The Junior School has a more explicit limit. Its policy says it receives none of the Department resources available to state primary schools for special educational needs.

The Junior School says it has no Special Needs Assistants. Its policy also excludes Department-provided specialist staff, equipment, transport and similar resources. It can support only a limited number of pupils in a class.

Parents must disclose current diagnoses, assessments and support information. The Junior policy says a place can be withdrawn, even after entry, if information needed to support the child was withheld.

English as an Additional Language, or EAL, is available in both divisions. The Senior service assesses proficiency and can support classroom English, academic language and preparation for Cambridge English or TOEFL examinations.

The school does not publish guaranteed EAL hours for every pupil. The 2026/27 fee letter charges a fixed €850 for the service.

Tuition and standard charges for 2026/27

The College’s fee letter dated 26 June 2026 publishes these annual tuition amounts:

Programme	Annual tuition
Junior School	€12,240
Senior School, Years 1–3 and 5–6	€9,560
Transition Year	€10,090
IB Diploma Programme	€12,600

The letter lists these additional standard charges:

Pupil or service	Charge
Junior School trips	€110 annually
P1–P6 violin and computer rental	€100 annually
K1–K2 computer rental	€55 annually
Parent Teacher Association	€20 per family
Senior diary and Yondr phone pouch	€15 + €10
Alumni Association	€10 per pupil, optional
New Senior pupil locker and padlock	€75 once
Transition Year digital career portfolio	€25
Fifth Year and 5IB Higher Options event	€15
Sixth Year and 6IB Higher Options event and directory	€15 + €7.50
EAL service	€850

The fee letter warns of a minimum €5,000 charge for certain additional IB subjects. It does not identify the subjects. The IB options document separately mentions extra charges for additional languages and online subjects.

That options document estimates one-off IB examination fees at about €500. It also shows an outdated €12,000 tuition figure, so use the later fee letter’s €12,600 amount.

Books, stationery, meals, uniform, transport, optional music, activities and some trips can add further costs. The Junior booklist page says families order books externally, although the school supplies copybooks.

The current payment portal lists Junior lunch at €6.50. It also lists after-school care at €22.50 per single session.

For one scheduled day each week in Term 1, the portal charges €286 for K1 and €330 for K2–P6. Five days cost €1,430 and €1,650 respectively. Later-term prices were not published there.

Morning supervision runs from 08:00 to 08:30 without charge. After-school care runs until 17:30 on four days and until 15:30 on Wednesday.

Payment, bursaries and withdrawal

Both current admissions policies require a €2,000 non-refundable acceptance deposit. It is deducted from first-term fees, so it must not be added again to annual tuition.

A full term’s written notice is required before withdrawal. Otherwise, the next term’s fees are charged. The Junior rule applies from acceptance; the Senior policy also requires a term’s notice to stop an extra subject.

Day-school care, immigration and guardianship

St Andrew’s provides no boarding. Its public pages do not offer host-family placement or a school guardianship service.

Irish immigration guidance requires a non-EEA or non-Swiss pupil to have an enrolment letter and paid fees. A visa may be required, and a stay beyond 90 days requires registration.

Because each published tuition fee exceeds €6,000, a study-visa applicant must normally pay at least €6,000 before applying. The school may require more under its own terms.

An unaccompanied pupil under 18 needs an Ireland-based guardian and approved living arrangements. Day pupils must provide the responsible adults’ names and address. Parents remain responsible for vetting a private host.

An admission offer does not confer immigration permission. Ask the College before paying whether it will issue the required acceptance, fee and Garda-clearance documents for the family’s exact arrangement.

Our take

The tradeoffs are equally clear. Religious priorities affect admission, the Junior School has significant support-resource limits, and the school supplies neither accommodation nor guardianship.

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