Gaelscoil
Template:Short description Template:EngvarB Template:Use dmy dates A Gaelscoil (Template:IPA; plural: Template:Lang) is an Irish language-medium school in Ireland: the term refers especially to Irish-medium schools outside the Irish-speaking regions or Gaeltacht. Over 50,000 students attend Gaelscoileanna at primary and second levels on the island of Ireland.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Additionally, more than 13,000 students are receiving their primary and second level education through Irish in the Gaeltacht.<ref name="Gaeloideachas"/> Template:Lang and Irish-medium schools in the Gaeltacht are supported and represented by Gaeloideachas and An Chomhairle um Oideachas Gaeltachta & Gaelscolaíochta or COGG in the Republic of Ireland and by Comhairle na Gaelscolaíochta in Northern Ireland. The largest patron body of Template:Lang in the Republic of Ireland is An Foras Pátrúnachta, although the vast majority of schools under their patronage are at primary level.
Students in the Template:Lang acquire the Irish language through language immersion, and study the standard curriculum through it. Gaelscoileanna, unlike English-medium schools, have the reputation of producing competent Irish speakers.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> English-medium schools, in contrast, produce relatively few fluent Irish speakers, despite the Irish language being an obligatory subject in the Republic of Ireland in both primary and secondary school. This has been attributed in part to the lack of Irish-language immersion programs.<ref>http://www.comhairle.org/uploads/publications/Immersion%20Education%20Policy%20SGIP.pdf Template:Dead link</ref>
Gaelscoileanna have undergone a striking expansion over the last few decades, although there are now concerns that rules limiting the founding of new schools are affecting the establishment of new Irish-medium education in areas where there is competition amongst educational patrons. Their success is due to effective (though limited) community support and an efficient administrative infrastructure. They are distinguished by being the product, not of state policy, but of a genuine community movement.
In 1972 there were only 11 such schools at primary level and five at secondary level in the Republic of Ireland. As of September 2023, there were 188 Template:Lang at primary level, attended by over 40,000 students, and 32 Template:Lang and 17 Template:Lang (Irish language units) at secondary level, attended by over 12,000 students in non-Gaeltacht areas across Ireland.<ref name="Gaeloideachas" /> 35 of these primary schools, two of the postprimary schools and four of the postprimary units operated are in Northern Ireland.<ref name="Gaeloideachas" /> Additionally, some 4,000 children attend Irish-medium preschools or Naíonraí outside the Gaeltacht with around 1,000 children attending Naíonraí within the Gaeltacht.Template:Citation needed There is now at least one Template:Lang in every county in Ireland with over 50 in County Dublin; 30 in County Cork and 13 in County Antrim included.
Social status and function
Template:Lang have acquired a reputation for providing excellent academic results at a moderate cost. They have been described as a system of "positive social selection" giving better than average access to tertiary education and the social and employment opportunities which follow. An analysis of "feeder" schools which send students on to tertiary level institutions shows that 22% of Irish-medium schools send all their students on to tertiary level, compared to 7% of English-medium schools.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
Supporters argue that the bilingualism resulting from early acquisition of another language is of general intellectual benefit and helps children to learn still other languages. Irish-language advocates of the immersion approach sometimes refer to studies showing that bilingual children have advantages over monoglot children in other subjects.<ref name="B&H">Template:Cite book</ref>
Statistics
| Primary level | Republic of Ireland | Northern Ireland |
|---|---|---|
| Template:Lang (primary) students | 35,850 | 5,113 |
| Template:Lang (primary) schools | 143 | 35 |
| Total primary students | 536,747 | 168,669 |
| Total primary schools | 3,137 | 827 |
| Percentage Template:Lang students | 6% | 2.1% |
| Percentage Template:Lang schools | 8.6% | 4.4% |
| Sources:<ref>Template:Cite webTemplate:Dead link</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | ||
By province (primary level)
- Leinster – 19,331 primary students attend 71 Template:Lang.<ref name="gaelscoileanna">Template:Cite web</ref>
- Ulster – 6,801 primary students attend 45 Template:Lang.<ref name="gaelscoileanna" />
- Munster – 11,332 primary students attend 44 Template:Lang.<ref name="gaelscoileanna" />
- Connacht – 3,509 primary students attend 18 Template:Lang.<ref name="gaelscoileanna" />
Post-primary education through Irish
A secondary-level Template:Lang located in a non-Template:Lang area is commonly known as a Template:Lang.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> There are 32 Template:Lang and 17 second-level Irish language units (Template:Lang) on the island of Ireland, attended by over 12,000 students. Close to 4,000 further students receive their second-level education through Irish in the Template:Lang.<ref name="Gaeloideachas">Template:Cite web</ref>
Two new second-level Template:Lang opened in Ireland in 2014: Template:Lang in Balbriggan and Template:Lang in Rathfarnham (both in County Dublin). Template:Lang opened in Carrigaline and Northern Ireland's second Template:Lang Template:Lang opened in Dungiven Castle in 2015. Template:Lang opened in Knocknaheeney in 2019. Template:Lang opened in Maynooth in September 2020.<ref name="GCMN.ie">Template:Cite web</ref>
Gaelcholáistí are supported and represented on a practical day-to-day basis by Gaeloideachas (who also support Irish-medium schools in the Gaeltacht) and An Chomhairle um Oideachas Gaeltachta & Gaelscolaíochta (whose name translates into English as "The Council for Gaeltacht and Gaelscoileanna Education") or COGG in the Republic of Ireland and by Comhairle na Gaelscolaíochta in Northern Ireland.
In 2023 An Foras Pátrúnacha revealed that there is a demand for 7 new Template:Lang in the Republic of Ireland<ref name="Near FM (2023)">Template:Cite web</ref> and in 2021 Template:Lang revealed that there is a demand for 3 new Template:Lang in Northern Ireland.<ref name="Near FM (2021)">Template:Cite web</ref>
List of Gaelcholáistí
| School name | Location | County | Region | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coláiste Ailigh | Letterkenny | Donegal | Republic of Ireland | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| Coláiste Chilliain | Clondalkin | Dublin | Republic of Ireland | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| Coláiste Cois Life | Lucan | Dublin | Republic of Ireland | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| Coláiste Eoin | Booterstown | Dublin | Republic of Ireland | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| Coláiste Feirste | Belfast | Antrim | Northern Ireland | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| Coláiste Ghlór na Mara | Balbriggan | Dublin | Republic of Ireland | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| Coláiste Mhuire | Cabra | Dublin | Republic of Ireland | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| Coláiste Ráithín | Bray | Wicklow | Republic of Ireland | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| Coláiste an Eachréidh | Athenry | Galway | Republic of Ireland | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| Coláiste an Phiarsaigh | Cork | Cork | Republic of Ireland | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| Coláiste de hÍde | Tallaght | Dublin | Republic of Ireland | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| Coláiste na Coiribe | Galway | Galway | Republic of Ireland | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| Coláiste na Tulchann | Clonsilla | Dublin | Republic of Ireland | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| Coláiste Íosagáin | Booterstown | Dublin | Republic of Ireland | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| Gaelcholáiste Charraig Uí Leighin | Cork | Cork | Republic of Ireland | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| Gaelcholáiste Cheatharlach | Carlow | Carlow | Republic of Ireland | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| Gaelcholáiste Chiarraí | Tralee | Kerry | Republic of Ireland | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| Gaelcholáiste Chill Dara | Naas | Kildare | Republic of Ireland | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| Gaelcholáiste Chéitinn | CTI Clonmel | Tipperary | Republic of Ireland | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| Gaelcholáiste Choilm | Cork | Cork | Republic of Ireland | |
| Gaelcholáiste Dhoire | Dungiven | Londonderry | Northern Ireland | <ref name="Derry Now 30 Nov 2017">Template:Cite news</ref> |
| Gaelcholáiste Luimnigh | Limerick | Limerick | Republic of Ireland | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| Gaelcholáiste Mhaigh Nuad | Maynooth | Kildare | Republic of Ireland | <ref name="GCMN.ie" /> |
| Gaelcholáiste Mhic Shuibhne | Knocknaheeny | Cork | Republic of Ireland | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| Gaelcholáiste Mhuire (A.G.) | Cork | Cork | Republic of Ireland | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| Gaelcholáiste Reachrann | Donaghmede | Dublin | Republic of Ireland | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| Gaelcholáiste na Mara | Arklow | Wicklow | Republic of Ireland | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| Gaelcoláiste an Phiarsaigh | Rathfarnham | Dublin | Republic of Ireland | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| Meanscoil Gharman | Enniscorthy | Wexford | Republic of Ireland | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| Scoil Chaitríona | Glasnevin | Dublin | Republic of Ireland | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
Strategy proposals
The function and future of Gaelscoileanna in the Republic of Ireland falls within the scope of the 20-Year Strategy for the Irish Language 2010-2030, published by the then-Irish government in December 2010. This report emphasises the importance of offering all children in primary schools in Ireland the opportunity to experience partial immersion in the formative years of primary education. It calls for primary teachers to have additional immersion classes to improve their competence in the language. This would involve teaching some subjects such as Mathematics and Science in Irish.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
See also
- An Foras Pátrúnachta
- Calandreta, bilingual French-Occitan school in Occitania, France
- Diwan (school) – Breton medium education in Brittany
- Education in the Republic of Ireland
- Education in Northern Ireland
- French immersion in Canada
- Gaelic medium education in Scotland – Scottish Gaelic equivalent in Scotland
- Ikastola, similar education centre in Basque language
- Kōhanga reo and Kura Kaupapa Māori, Māori language immersion schools in Aotearoa/New Zealand
- La Bressola, a bilingual French-Catalan school network in Northern Catalonia, France
- List of Irish medium primary schools in Northern Ireland
- Medium of instruction
- Official Languages Act 2003
- Welsh medium education
References
External links
- List of Gaelscoileanna in Ireland (Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland)
- Gaelscoileanna.ie (website of Gaelscoileanna Teo)
- Stats on Gaeltacht schools 2004
- Gaeltacht Comprehensive Language Study 2007
- Gaelscoil stats 2010–2011
- Republic of Ireland Census 2006 – daily speakers outside education system
Template:Irish language education Template:Gaels Template:Celtic languages