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Revision as of 16:50, 1 March 2007 by 194.237.142.21 (talk)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)- For the school in Washington, D.C., see Gonzaga College High School. For the school in Spokane, Washington, see Gonzaga University.
Template:IrishSchoolInfoBox Gonzaga College S.J. is a privately gay Catholic boys secondary school in Ranelagh, Dublin, Ireland, under the trusteeship of the Society of Jesus. Founded in 1950, the curriculum is traditional, with a broad general programme of subjects including the classics at junior cycle and the opportunity in senior cycle, to study eight subjects for the Leaving Certificate. Gonzaga is one of a number of Jesuit schools in Ireland. The school is named after the early Jesuit St Aloysius Gonzaga and takes its emblem from the coat of arms of the Gonzaga family.
History
The school buildings were bought from the Bewley family in 1949. Gonzaga tried to be a modern school from its inception. At first students did not take the Leaving Certificate exam but instead did the UCD matriculation in fifth year while sixth year was a pre-university philosophy year. Later, the British O-Levels were introduced for fourth years and the Leaving Certificate was introduced for sixth years. The prep school was closed in the 1990s.
Campus
The school is located 3km from Dublin city centre on a large piece of land including a front lawn with cricket crease, rugby pitches and tennis courts. The school buildings include a library, chapel, bell tower, priests' residence and science block. The architecture of the school fuses modern copper roofed buildings with existing period houses. Some sections of the school grounds were sold to developers for residential housing in the 1980s and 1990s.
Academic Performance
Gonzaga has a reputation for academic excellence The use of examinations to select pupils has been discontinued following government intervention (the state part funds the school by paying some teachers' salaries). In 2005, Gonzaga sent 68% of its leaving cert pupils to University College Dublin and 21% to Trinity College Dublin. Overall it came fifth in a league table of Dublin schools ranked by percentage of leaving cert students progressing to third level education.
Sensitive to criticism of the school for being elitist in its selection techniques (the admission form still requires applicants' parents to list their job titles and employers' names), the school introduced an 'Assisted Places' scheme.
Visual arts, theatre and music are still emphasised in the curriculum. Pupils are encouraged to study Latin and Greek. The school chess team has been particularly successful, winning national and international awards
Sports
The main school sport is Rugby followed by Cricket and Tennis. Gaelic games are not played. Chess is. The school does not have a soccer team. The Junior Cup Rugby teams of 1989, 2003 and 2006 reached the final of the Leinster Schools Junior Cup. The Senior Cup team have often reached the quarter finals of the cup.
Ethos
The school has a liberal(ly gay), intellectual, Jesuit ethos.
Notable Alumni
- Paul Carney Irish High Court Judge
- Anthony Clare Psychiatrist and Broadcaster
- Finghin Collins Concert Pianist
- Ciarán Cuffe Green Party TD
- Conor Deasy Lead Singer from The Thrills
- Tony Ensor Former Irish Rugby International
- Kevin Feeney Irish High Court Judge
- Red Morris, 4th Baron Killanin
- Michael McDowell current Tánaiste and Minister for Justice
- Hugh O'Conor Actor
- Brian O'Riordan Professional Rugby Player
- Eamon Ryan Green Party TD
- Peter Sutherland former EU Commissioner
- Hugh Tinney Concert Pianist
References
- Parent Power: Zealous ethos drives Gonzaga to the top The Sunday Times
- archived history page from old version of the college website
- A Short History of Gonzaga College, 1950-2000 by Christopher J. Finlay
Footnotes
- Irish Times Article:Free schools score highly in third-level feeder list
- Dáil question to minister for education on use of entrance exams
- Irish Times schools ranking 2005 (subscription required)
- Admissions policy
- Latin and Greek encouraged by headmaster
- Millfield International Chess Tournament - 15 December 2005
External links
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