The Irish Times 2024 Feeder School list provides new insights into how graduates of Irish second-level schools are progressing to third-level institutions in Ireland.
Former students who attended second-level in the State secured 43,197 places on undergraduate programmes at third-level institutions listed in this supplement.
They sat the Leaving Cert in June 2024, or in a previous year, and attended a wide range of school types including Deis schools, private fee-paying schools, Gaelcholáistí (Irish medium), and other recognised schools.
Students attending Deis schools (English and Irish medium) make up 19.2 per cent of those sitting the Leaving Cert in 2024. They secured 15.3 per cent of the 43,197 places offered and just under 11 per cent of those offered in traditional universities.
Students attending mainstream schools taught through both Irish and English make up 73.3 per cent of this year’s Leaving Certs, and secured 75.9 per cent of overall places and 76.8 per cent of places at traditional universities.
Students attending Gaelcholáistí make up 3.5 per cent of the class of 2024, but 3.9 per cent of those securing places overall and 4.8 per cent of those receiving places in traditional universities.
Finally, students attending fee-paying schools make up 7.5 per cent of this year’s Leaving Cert students, securing 8.8 per cent of places offered and 12.4 per cent of those secured in traditional universities.
While Deis has significantly improved the progression prospects of students in disadvantaged areas, we are still far from being an equal opportunity society for all our children. However, we are providing enhanced progression possibilities each year, creating better learning and career opportunities for students.
In 2024, higher education access continued to expand through multiple pathways. Several hundred students started new Tertiary degree programmes, where they began their studies in local further education colleges before progressing to the universities which will eventually confer their degree. Other students commenced degrees in Northern Ireland in medical and paramedical programmes funded by the Irish Government, and degree-level apprenticeship pathways continued to grow.
Despite the progress of recent years there is still a distance to travel to reach a point where all children entering our early childhood education system have equal opportunities to reach their optimum potential.
1. Socioeconomic factors
A quick glance at the progression chart to traditional universities will show the dominance of fee-paying schools in securing places, with 15 of the top 29 being from this sector.
High levels of progression to third-level is not confined to fee-paying schools. Many Gaelcholáistí and non-fee paying schools also match and surpass those who charge fees, indicating that social class, location, language and parental expectations also play a part in shaping progression journeys.
2. Most students apply to local colleges
Young people in Ireland, unlike their counterparts in the UK, tend to apply for third-level places at local colleges. Research carried out with those who have progressed to third level indicates that most Irish school leavers apply to attend colleges where they can continue to socialise with their peer group.
There are significantly lower third-level progression rates among students in areas which do not have access to third-level institutions and who are therefore unable to attend a chosen course without living away from home.
3. Progression by postcode
The most affluent parts of the capital city, such as Dublin 4 and Dublin 6, saw 76 per cent and 95 per cent respectively of the 2024 entrants who sat their Leaving Cert in local schools progress to third-level this year. These figures compare with 87 per cent and 99.7 per cent in 2023. It is worth noting that the number of schools listed in our Dublin 4 entry includes an additional school this year, increasing the number of schools in that area from six to seven.
In other postal districts of the city, Dublin 10 and 11, the proportion of Leaving Cert students progressing to college in 2023 saw an improvement with 49 per cent and 56.5 per cent progressing, up respectively from 43 per cent and 48 per cent in 2023. It is worth noting, that of the four schools featured in Dublin 10′s figures last year, one school has since closed, and another has amalgamated with a school in the area. The improvement could be attributed to factors including the creation of new pathways to third-level education.
The social divide is stark when the figures are broken down into those who sat the Leaving Cert in 2024 and secured places in traditional universities. In Dublin 4 and 6, some 67.2 and 68.3 per cent went on to a traditional university, compared with 26 and 33.1 per cent in Dublin 10 and 11.
4. We still want to pursue the CAO route
The 2024 feeder school data reveal Ireland’s exceptionally high third-level participation rate of about 80 per cent, which is among the highest in the world. Ireland also continues to have one of the highest retention rates at second level across Europe – that is, the proportion of students who stay in school until the Leaving Cert.
5. The growth of full-time senior cycle grind schools
There are an estimated 4,000 students sitting the Leaving Cert in grind schools for which we have no data as the State Examinations Commission (SEC) does not supply that information. However, most of the students in grind schools are included in the numbers reported by the third-level colleges as attributed to their school of origin where they sat the junior Cycle. Ironically, if grind schools do a good job of delivering high grades for their students, the benefit is often attributed to the school they initially attended.
6. Progression is ultimately determined by the number of places offered
The number of additional places offered by colleges changes marginally each year. Where those changes take place may determine the success or otherwise of individual applicants.
There has been an ongoing expansion in the numbers of places offered by colleges during the period of the outgoing Government, as they have sought to increase the numbers of graduates in sectors of the economy where we have acute shortages, particularly in the medical and paramedical disciplines.
The increased progression rates of schools is directly linked to the additional places being added annually.
Note: Some schools recorded a drop in the number of students sitting the Leaving Cert in 2023-2024 which inflated their third-level progression rates significantly. As a result, we have excluded schools where student numbers fell by 15 per cent or more in this editorial commentary.
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