Rathdown School announces decision to close Boarding in June 2025

It is with great regret and sadness that the Board of Governors of Rathdown School Trust has arrived at a decision to close Boarding in Rathdown. The Board is acutely aware this decision is difficult for the 18 affected families in the school community and are working to support them at this time.

Boarding will continue in its current format for the remainder of the 2023/2024
academic year. Rathdown will wind down its boarding offering in 2024/2025 and
close it finally after the Leaving Certificate examinations in June 2025. While
Rathdown will be unable to provide boarding beyond June 2025, the school will seek to assist families in securing host families or alternative schools beyond June 2025.

The number of students boarding in Rathdown has been in a steady structural
decline for the past 15 years despite our best efforts to improve enrolment. This is a local as well as a national trend. Numbers in Boarding in Rathdown decreased by 17% last year. There are only two students boarding in First Year with potentially no enrolments for 2024, so it is unfortunately no longer financially viable to continue due to both the decline in enrolment and the current inflationary cost increases.

The school has had boarders since 1878 so this decision marks the end of an era
and its legacy will continue to help shape our values and culture into the future.

For queries contact: bmoore@rathdownschool.ie