User:SeoR/sandbox/Holy Faith Secondary School, Clontarf

Holy Faith Secondary School, Clontarf is a girls' voluntary second level school in Clontarf on the Northside of Dublin, Ireland. Founded by the Holy Faith Sisters in 1890, it is since 2009 in the care of The Le Cheile Schools Trust. It is notable as one of the 25 schools (of around 800 in Ireland) with the highest progression to third level education; it was ranked 1st in North Dublin, and 7th in Ireland, by the Sunday Times in 2020.

History
Four Holy Faith nuns were sent to establish a convent and private Catholic school for girls and boys in Clontarf in 1890, in response to an invitation from the parish priest. The convent was named for Our Lady Star of the Sea, and the attached school opened for teaching on 22 September that year, with three girls and one boy. The plan was to have full schooling for girls, with boys taken up to the end of primary school (this was described as a "juniorate"). The original building was on the seafront where Belgrove Road meets the coast road, which later became the convent when the school moved further inland.

Already by 1902 the school was expanded with seven new classrooms, and expansion continued, until, in 1942, the remainder of the current site was purchased. The modern school building was commenced on October 3 (the Feast of the Little Flower) 1950, considered to be the founding date for the current school setup, and teaching in the new facilities commenced in September 1953. The new building was formally blessed and launched by John Charles McQuaid, Archbishop of Dublin, on October 2 1953. The architect was Edward Smith.

The school had its first Leaving Certificate graduates in 1950. Until the 1960s, a typical first year intake was around 100, with around 15 completing secondary school. Holy Faith Clontarf was initially funded by fees, sale of works by the nuns (Communion bread and sewing) and donations, including from the nuns' families. It then joined the national free school scheme, under which the school is operationally funded by the Department of Education, and does not charge fees, though voluntary contributions are welcomed. Pupil population rose from around 410 in 1962 to a peak of around 820 in 1993, and has been stable in the low 600s since around 2009. Further construction in the 1970s added new laboratory facilities and a geography room, and in the 1980s prefabricated buildings were added to the rear.

The secondary school had its first board of management appointed in 1985, and its first lay principal, Bertha McCullagh in 1987, when 14 nuns remained in the convent. It was moved from direct order trusteeship to the Le Cheile Schools Trust, a joint venture of 13, now 15, religious orders, in 2009.

Curriculum
Students at Holy Faith follow the Irish Junior Certificate syllabus in first to third years, choosing 4 from 8 optional subjects, and the Leaving Certificate syllabus in fifth and sixth year, choosing 4 from 17 additional examination subjects. Fourth year is a mandatory Transition Year, with both basic subjects and a wide range of extra courses and workshops, as well as work experience, social initiatives and the national Gaisce awards. The school has a strong track record of progression to third level, having ranked in the top 4% of schools for progression to third level education; and been ranked 1st in North Dublin, and 7th in Ireland, by the Sunday Times in 2020.

Sports
The school offers a range of sports, competing in camogie (since the 1940s), field hockey, basketball, badminton, ladies' Gaelic football, tennis (with Clontarf Tennis Club) and athletics (in cooperation with Raheny Shamrock Athletic Club). Some sports use the school's own hall and outdoor facilities, some also use external venues such as Baldoyle Badminton Centre, playing fields in St Anne's Park and with basketball at the Irish Wheelchair Association premises nearby.

Governance
The school is under the direction of the Le Cheile Schools Trust, and managed by a board of management comprising 4 nominees of the trustees, 2 of the teachers, 2 of the parents, and with the principal attending as non-voting secretary. The board serves for three year terms. There is a Parents' Association, with representative and fundraising roles, and the students have a head prefect and four prefects.

Staffing and management
Holy Faith Clontarf has a principal and deputy principal, and each year has an assigned leading teacher. The staff complement includes a guidance counsellor, a learning support teacher and a special needs assistant, as well as a secretarial staff, and there is also a part-time chaplain.

Uniform and timetable
The school has a compulsory uniform, and offers paid supervised study periods.

Funding
The school's primary funding souce is the Department of Education and Skills. It has two suggested voluntary parental contributions, an amenities subscription and a games subscription, and a further optional development contribution; in 2016, these were 120, 90 and 275 euro respectively. It and its parents' association also run fund-raising activities.

Transport
The school is on a Dublin Bus route and near a Dublin Area Rapid Transit station, and also has its own bus service, stopping at Portmarnock, the Malahide Road and Fairview in the morning, and Raheny, Donaghmede, Baldoyle, Portmarnock and Malahide in the afternoon.

Notable past pupils

 * Mary Banotti, nurse and MEP (1984-2004)
 * Pat Barker, former professor and registrar at Dublin City University, accountancy profession leader
 * Catherine Dunne, writer
 * Nadia Forde, model and TV personality
 * Bernadette Greevy, singer and artistic director
 * F. X. Martin, Irish cleric, historian and archivist
 * Feargal Quinn, entrepreneur, founded of Superquinn, senator
 * Emma Teeling, professor of Zoology, genomicist