St. Macartan’s College Admissions Policy

St. Macartan’s College is a Voluntary Secondary School for boys only. St. Macartan’s operates an open enrolment policy and caters for boys primarily from the catchment area parishes of North Monaghan in the Roman Catholic diocese of Clogher.

To be eligible for admission to the school boys must have reached 12 years of age on the 1st of January in the calendar year following entry to first year and must have completed a full course of primary education.

Boys with special needs will be welcomed and accepted for enrolment in so far as the resources allocated by the Department of Education and Science permit it.

The applicant boy must be willing, with his parents/guardians to accept in writing the St. Macartan’s College Code of Behaviour.

The applicant boy and his parents must be willing in writing to accept the College mission and ethos.

St. Macartan’s College is normally in a position to enrol 120 First Year boys into the school each year.In the event of the Board of Management finding it necessary to determine the maximum numbers of boys to be admitted in a year, the following admission criteria will be used when there are more applications than places available:

1.  Boys whose parents are members of and resident in one of the catchment area parishes.
2.  Boys who have brothers currently pupils in the school
3.  Boys who have brothers who were previously pupils in the school.
4. Boys who are sons of staff members
5.  Boys who are sons of past pupils.
6.  Other eligible applicants boys from the waiting list on a first come basis.

The school reserves the right to refuse enrollment to any student in exceptional cases.  Such an exceptional case could include the following:  The student has special needs such that, even with additional resources available from the Department of Education and Science, the school cannot meet such needs and/or provide the student with an appropriate education

or

In the opinion of the Board of Management, the student poses an unacceptable risk to other students, to school staff or to school property.”Students with special needs.St.Macartan’s College welcomes boys with special needs and will use the resources, both financial and personnel, provided by the Department of Education and Science to make reasonable accommodation for students with disabilities or special educational needs up to a nominal cost so that these students are free to participate in the life in the school in so far as is reasonably practicable.While recognising and fully supporting parents’ rights to have a school of their choice for their children, the College’s ability to accept students with particular needs is dependent on the supply of resources, suitable to the needs of the individual student, being supplied by the Department of Education and Science.The College welcomes applications from boys with special educational needs unless the nature and degree of those needs is such that to enroll the student concerned would be inconsistent with both the best interests of the student concerned and the effective provision of education for the other students with whom the student concerned is to be educated. The Board of Management must be made aware of any special needs as early as possible, so that these needs can be assessed and addressed where possible.Parents are requested to outline the details of a child’s special educational needs on the Application FormThe Board of Management, having gathered all relevant information and professional documentation, assesses how the needs of these students can be met.Contact will be made with the National Council for Special Educational Needs regarding special needs resources to which the student may be entitled.The Principal may request a meeting with the parents of the student to discuss the application and the student’s needs.The parents of the student may request a meeting with the Principal to discuss the student’s educational or other needs.As soon as is practicable, but not later than 21 days, after a parent/guardian has provided all the relevant information, the Board of Management shall make a decision in respect of the application concerned and inform the parents/guardians in writing thereof. (Education Welfare Act (Section 19 (3)).Student Transferring from other Post Primary Schools.On applying to become a student at St. Macartan’s College the applicant boy and his parent(s)/ guardian(s) must first meet with the Principal.The applicant boy must be willing, with his parents/guardians to accept in writing the St. Macartan’s College Code of Behaviour and Anti-Bullying Policy.The applicant boy and his parents must be willing to accept in writing the College Mission, Ethos and anti-Bullying Policy.The acceptance of the student is in the best interests of the school.Transfer students will be accepted if there is a place available in the relevant year group, in particular with specialist classes where the capacity is limited.A satisfactory reference from the applicant student’s previous school mustbe available to St. Macartan’s College. All other relevant information from the applicants previous school must also be available.The transfer boy  must complete all application documentation in full.The reasons for the transfer must be in the educational interest of the pupil himself.The applicant transfer student must realise that if he is to be accommodated in St. Macartan’s College he may have to take up or discontinue another subject.GeneralAll admissions to St. Macartan’s College are subject to the approval of the Board of Management. The Board reserves the right to refuse an application for enrolment in exceptional circumstances.The principal acting on behalf of the Board of Management has the right to grant or refuse admissions.Parents/guardians have 10 days working to appeal a refusal to the Board of Management. This is from the date the letter of refusal is issued from the School.Parents / guardians and the applicant boy have the right to meet the Board of Management.If the application is still refused the parents/guardian acting on behalf of the applicant can appeal this decision under Section 29 to the Department of Education and Science.In interpreting the application of the above policy, and in cases of dispute, the Board of Management will make final decisions.