education in Ireland The term Education in Ireland may refer to either of two education systems in Ireland: *Education in the Republic of Ireland *Education in Northern Ireland Education in Northern Ireland differs from education systems elsewhere in the United ...

, a voluntary secondary school (or privately-owned secondary school; ) is a post-primary school that is privately owned and managed. Most are

denominational A religious denomination is a subgroup within a religion that operates under a common name and tradition among other activities. The term refers to the various Christian denominations (for example, Eastern Orthodox, Catholic, and the many variet ...

schools, and the managers are often

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

authorities, especially in the case of

Catholic school Catholic schools are pre-primary, primary and secondary educational institutions administered under the aegis or in association with the Catholic Church. , the Catholic Church operates the world's largest religious, non-governmental school syste ...

s. Like national schools at primary level, voluntary secondary schools are supported by the Department of Education, on a per capita basis. Approximately 90% of teachers' salaries are met by the state. Some schools charge tuition fees, while many others request top-up funding or voluntary

fee A fee is the price one pays as remuneration for rights or services. Fees usually allow for overhead, wages, costs, and markup. Traditionally, professionals in the United Kingdom (and previously the Republic of Ireland) receive a fee in contra ...

contributions from parents. The local community may also be involved in fund raising. Until 1966, all post-primary schools were voluntary secondary schools except for vocational schools run by Vocational Education Committees. The raising of the school leaving age by Donogh O'Malley triggered the creation of publicly managed community and comprehensive schools. Some smaller secondary schools subsequently merged with each other or with the public schools. Voluntary secondary schools still form the largest part of the post-primary school system and are attended by about 60% of post-primary education students. The schools are generally managed by a Board of Management or less often a patron or

religious institute A religious institute is a type of institute of consecrated life in the Catholic Church whose members take religious vows and lead a life in community with fellow members. Religious institutes are one of the two types of institutes of consecrate ...

. A school principal is in general control of everyday business. Some voluntary secondary schools are

boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. As they have existed for many centuries, and now exten ...

s, this is particularly so in the case of

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

, many of which are

Church of Ireland The Church of Ireland ( ga, Eaglais na hÉireann, ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Kirk o Airlann, ) is a Christian church in Ireland and an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the second ...

, as students cannot commute daily to such schools which are often located only in a few provincial towns. These schools generally receive additional grants to the normal per capita grant.

Footnotes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Voluntary Secondary School School types Secondary education in Ireland