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Education
Fee-paying schools dominate university numbers, but third-level numbers on the rise
Fee-paying schools and Gaeilscoilleanna send more students to university, but there is good news across the board.
THE NUMBER OF students advancing from secondary school to third-level institutions is on the rise.
Feeder schools tables, released today, show that fee-paying schools and Gaeilscoilleanna outperform state-run schools when it comes to students advancing to third-level.
The tables track third-level students and their school of origin.
Although fee-paying schools dominate the numbers attending universities and higher points courses such as medicine, the tables also make good reading for parents of state-run school students.
The tables show that one in seven post-primary schools sends 100 per cent of their students to a third-level institution.
Progression rates at some schools, however, are far below the national average. Some reported sending as low as 10 per cent of their students on to further education.
Schools in South Dublin performed particularly well, with 25 schools sending at least 94 per cent of their students to college.
The publishing of the lists has been criticised by the Teachers Union of Ireland, who say that focus on third-level education misses the point of education.
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