← Back to the rankingInternational School of Dublin
Dublin, Ireland · est. 2007 · Private
Illustration · Dublin
The International School of Dublin (ISD) is a private, not-for-profit, co-educational and non-denominational primary school in Dublin city centre for children aged 3.5 to 12. It opened in 2007 and describes itself as Ireland's first accredited IB Primary Years Programme school; all teaching follows this programme. There are four classes, each combining several ages, with an average of 12 children per class; students represent more than 20 nationalities, and 15-20% of students move on each year. The language of instruction is English, as the learning page states directly; classes are multilingual, a specialist English as an Additional Language teacher supports children without English, and Spanish is taught by a native teacher. Irish is not studied during school hours. There is no uniform, and religion is not part of the curriculum. Some lessons are blended: the teacher is in the classroom while the lesson runs through an online platform. The school is governed by an independent voluntary board of directors.
Key facts
Admits from
3.5 years · Pre-School
Languages of instruction
English
Students per teacher
Roughly 7 students per teacher.
Class size
An average of 12 students per class, at most 18 in Kindergarten and at most 20 in Grades 1-6.
About the fees Tuition is 11250 euro a year; the school does not state which academic year the amount applies to. Fees are issued in August, and for mid-year enrolments they are calculated accordingly. Sibling discounts: 10% each for the first and second siblings, 20% for the third and additional siblings. Before and after school programmes, school meals, swimming sessions and additional English support are charged separately. Payment is by electronic transfer only; credit cards are not accepted.
Admissions The school admits students of all nationalities, faiths and backgrounds year-round. The process: a pre-enrolment form for each child, a school tour and an informal interview (can be virtual), a pilot school morning for children with special needs, children enrolling in Kindergarten and those starting formal schooling for the first time; the school then requests a reference from the current school. A place is offered if there is space in the class and the child can access the curriculum. On acceptance the family pays a non-refundable registration deposit and provides the birth certificate, passport, immunisation records and the latest school report, all translated into English. Age: Pre-Kindergarten admits from 3.5 years, other classes by age on 31 August. The school does not handle visas but provides a letter confirming enrolment.
Stages and year groups Grades Pre-K-6, 4 classes. The whole school follows the IB Primary Years Programme. Four mixed-age classes: Kindergarten (Pre-Kindergarten, Kindergarten 1 and 2, ages 3.5-6), Grades 1-2 (ages 6-8), Grades 3-4 (ages 8-10) and Grades 5-6 (ages 10-12). The school is primary only and ends at Grade 6, with no secondary classes of its own; graduates then go on to various Dublin secondary schools, with the Irish curriculum or the IB, and the school helps families choose.
Address Synge Street, Dublin 8, D08 PW64
Accreditations and programmes verified against official registries
IB · PYP · authorised programmeThe IB register lists the Primary Years Programme at the school. It is a primary school only, up to age 12.
school is in an official registryconfirmed by a school document, by membership or by taking part in a networkclaimed by the school, no confirmation, not counted in the scoreGuide to all organisations → What stands behind each entry
IBInternational Baccalaureate
A Swiss non-profit, working since 1968. Its programmes are among the most widely recognised school programmes in the world. Authorisation is granted stage by stage, so a school with the final stage does not necessarily run the younger ones; which stages this school holds is set out in the line below.
What the badge means for this school. The school is allowed to run this programme and to award its certificate. This is a confirmation of the programme, not a judgement on the school as a whole. The entry stands in the organisation's public register - anyone can check it. At this school: PYP (ages 3-12). PYP is the primary stage, ages 3 to 12. It is not a set of subjects but a frame for the whole school: learning is built around lines of inquiry, and there are no exams at the end.
Register to check for yourself, and the full guide →Exams and destinations from the school's official website
The school publishes nothing about where its leavers go: no share going on to university, no exam results, no list of universities.
Facilities from the school's official website
·Swimming poolnot stated on the website
·Sports hallnot stated on the website
·Laboratoriesnot stated on the website
·Theatre or assembly hallnot stated on the website
·Librarynot stated on the website
·Cateringnot stated on the website
✓School transport
·Boardingnot stated on the website
Also on site: Playground
Campus: The school is located in Dublin city centre on Synge Street and shares premises with another national primary school. Classrooms are bright and arranged for flexible group work; there is an outdoor space for play and sport with partial covering. Classrooms have smartboards, laptops and iPads. Lunches by subscription come from nearby restaurants, and on request the school arranges transport by private taxi; Dublin Bus and Luas stops are nearby. Once a year students have a swimming term, typically 9 lessons.
Clubs and activities: Piano · Guitar · Yoga · Football · Capoeira · Japanese language · Portuguese language · French language · Dancing · Cooking · Sewing · Student Council
Teaching staff from the school's official website
·Teachers listed by namenot published
✓Teacher qualifications
·Number of teachersthe school does not say
✓Students per teacher or class sizein the key facts above
What the listings show: According to the school, all staff hold relevant teaching qualifications.
The team page lists 13 people: the Head of School, who is also the PYP Coordinator, class teachers for each of the four classes, performing arts, Spanish and PE teachers, an after school programme coordinator, teaching assistants, an English language support specialist and an office administrator.
Safety and wellbeing from the school's official website
·CCTVnot stated on the website
·Security staffnot stated on the website
·Access controlnot stated on the website
·Nurse or medical roomnot stated on the website
·Counsellornot stated on the website
·Child protection policynot stated on the website
·Staff trainingnot stated on the website
·Anti-bullying policynot stated on the website
According to the school, it carries out rigorous international safeguarding checks when hiring staff. The website does not publish a separate child protection policy or name a designated person.
Reviews
No reviews yet. The community rating counts towards the score once a school has five verified reviews - until then we do not show a zero, so as not to mislead.
Criteria breakdown criterion weight in brackets
Academics and programmes (16%)72 Community rating (16%)no dataparent reviews are needed: the criterion switches on at the fifth verified one Exams and destinations (12%) scored on disclosed data55 Safety and wellbeing (12%) scored on disclosed data55 Accreditation and verifiability (10%)85 Teaching staff (10%) scored on disclosed data55 Facilities (10%) scored on disclosed data65 Clubs and activities (8%) scored on disclosed data78 Value for money (6%) scored at the median74 "Scored on disclosed data" stands where we count only what the school has written about itself on its own site: exams and destinations, safety and wellbeing, teaching staff, facilities, clubs and activities. A low score here means the school does not write about this, not that the school does not have it: a school with good security and a sparse site will score low. A school can fill in its profile, and the score will be counted again.
The score is counted from 7 of the 9 criteria.Only those with checkable data count: programmes and accreditations from official registers, the fee from a published price list. Where it says "scored on the median", the school has no data and the middle of the list is put in its place, so that a gap gives no advantage. Admissions, teaching staff and reviews come in as their data arrives.
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