St. Andrew's College, Dublin
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| Saint Andrews College Coláiste Naomh Aindriú |
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| Motto | Ardens Sed Virens Latin for 'Burning Yet Flourishing' |
| Established | 1894 |
| Location | Booterstown, County Dublin, Republic of Ireland |
| Students | 1300 |
| Principal | Arthur Godsil |
| Staff | approx. 100 |
| Homepage | http://www.sac.ie |
St. Andrew's College is a co-educational and inter-denominational day school, founded in 1894 by members of the Presbyterian community now located in Booterstown, Dublin, Ireland.
St. Andrew's offers a very wide range of academic subjects, sports, cultural and other extra-curricular activities, organizes major student events such as the annual Arts Festival, the Model European Parliament and the Model United Nations (SAIMUN) all of which attract participants from Ireland and abroad.
The school colours are Blue and White.
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[edit] History
[edit] Foundation
Originally founded as a boys' secondary school at the end of the nineteenth century by members of the Presbyterian community, St Andrew's College celebrated its centenary in 1994. It was on 8 January 1894 that the College opened its doors at 21 St. Stephen's Green in the centre of Victorian Dublin. This was to be the first of its three locations.
Under its young and energetic headmaster, W W Haslett, an Ulsterman, it grew rapidly from its original intake of 64 students. By the end of 1894 there were 203 boys in the school.
[edit] Troubled times
From the outset, the school was non-sectarian in character. Only in the opening year were Presbyterians in the majority. During the last years of the Union, numbers grew, reaching a peak of 380 by 1922. However, along with many Protestant institutions, it went through a period of crisis during the early years of the Irish Free State, following the turmoil of revolution, civil war and reconstruction. Numbers plummeted and closure seemed imminent.
[edit] Wellington Place
However, at the beginning of 1937 a move to new premises in Wellington Place, Clyde Road, along with a determined effort by past pupils and parents to stave off closure or amalgamation saw a revival in the fortunes of the College.
[edit] Structure
[edit] Evolution
Over the years the College has evolved in many ways, and is now a flourishing international, interdenominational, co-educational school of approximately 1,200 pupils and just over 100 teachers. It offers a very wide range of academic subjects, sports, cultural and other extra-curricular activities, organizes major student events such as the annual Arts Festival, the Model European Parliament and the Model United Nations (SAIMUN) all of which attract participants from Ireland and abroad.
[edit] Accreditations
Since 1984 St Andrew's has been fully accredited by the European Council of International Schools and the New England Association of Schools and Colleges, the only school in Ireland to hold this distinction.
[edit] Students
St. Andrews is one of Ireland's most prestigious schools. Its status as an internationally accredited school makes it very popular with children of foreign diplomats. Students enjoy lower than average class sizes and in state examinations, St Andrews students consistently perform well above the national average.
[edit] International Baccalaureate
St. Andrews is the only school in Ireland to offer the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Programme. Only a small number(usually under around 35 per year) of the school's students are in the IB programme. It is difficult becuase of this for IB students to interact with the Leaving Certificate students as they have only have sport together and often are new to the school or even country and have few friends outside of the other IB students. However it is not impossible, especially if the student partakes in school activities.
[edit] Activities
[edit] Sport
Participation in sporting activities is regarded by the College as desirable for all pupils as it provides a means of complementing their academic and social development. While participation is the basic objective it must also be recognised that the pursuit and achievement of success in competitive sport is essential in maintaining the interest of the pupils and the morale of the teams.
Main winter sports are Rugby Union for the boys, as well as Hockey, Basketball and Badminton for both boys and girls.
While the rugby team struggles in the highly competitive Leinster Schools Senior Cup (which the school last won in 1921), the sport remains popular with students. Cricket continues to enjoy something of a cult following in the school. Field hockey has been a source of tremendous success for both boys and girls teams in the last decade. Many who have featured in successful St. Andrews sides have gone on to represent Ireland at international level.
[edit] Model United Nations
Model United Nations(MUN) is a very popular after school activity for students in the senior school. Each year groups of students are chosen to form delegations and to meet three times per week outside of school hours to practice debating resolutions. These students then travel to two international conferences: the Royal Russell MUN in Croydon, UK, and The Hague International MUN in The Hague, Netherlands.
St. Andrews has a particular legacy at the Royal Russell MUN where they have recently had more resolutions passed than any other school. St. Andrew's also hosts its own conference; St. Andrew's Internatioinal Model United Nations(SAIMUN). The conference is one of the school's most high-profile annual events.
It reached a high point in 2002 when John Hume, Nobel Peace Prize winner and former leader of the SDLP, made an address to the assembly. The Conference is hosted in Jury's Hotel in Ballsbridge, where a large number of the school's students participate along with students from other schools from around the world. It is generally regarded as a fun, worthwhile social activity. The 2007 conference will be the last to be held at the Jury's Hotel in Ballsbridge due to the hotel being sold. The School is now looking for a new location for SAIMUN.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- St. Andrew's College - official website
- Rate my teacher - Rate My teacher website.
