Academic

Staff at Villiers School aim to facilitate all students in achieving their fullest potential in academic and co-curricular fields, at each stage of their development.

As is the norm in many Irish Secondary schools, students embark on a six year programme, leading first to the Junior Cycle examinations, followed by Transition Year, and culminating with the Leaving Certificate examinations.  Villiers School is the only boarding school in Ireland authorised to also offer the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP), an international alternative to the traditional Leaving Certificate.

In order to cope with the rapidity with which knowledge itself changes, 21^st century students must seek to achieve academic excellence. At Villiers, we see academic excellence as the ability to perform, achieve, and/or excel in scholastic activities. While many see academic excellence as achieving high grades and superior performance, we see it as much more than that. For Villiers students, academic excellence is maximising the development of intellectual capacities and skills, so as to have a meaningful and fulfilling function in society at large.

Academic excellence is a process of both formal and informal education, which traverses all programmes offered at Villiers.  It is intended that Villiers students will see education, in its’ wider context, as a limitless and unending process to be enjoyed for a lifetime. Therefore, in addition to the core subjects of English, Irish, Maths and a Modern Language, students are enabled to study a variety of subjects from the Arts, Humanities, Science, Engineering, Business and Health Sciences spheres.

Furthermore, through Student Council, Model United Nations, Debating, Lunchtime Club, Active Schools, Choir, Trad Group, Team Sports, and many of the Transition Year projects, students are encouraged to develop self-confidence, persistence and leadership abilities. These, above all else on the curriculum, enable students to develop an attitude of social responsibility and an understanding of cultural and intellectual differences.

We are privileged that our students have access to Derravoher House, built c. 1835, which we have developed into a library and teaching/collaborative space, whilst maintaining and enhancing its aesthetic and architectural integrity. This space enables students to work independently, within the school day, and access our extensive physical and online library to enhance their academic progress. The experience of studying and working in a building that is almost 200 years old instils a sense of reverence and respect that automatically encourages our students to focus on the task at hand.

To enable success, students engage in enrichment programs, such as ‘prefectship’, student council, career guidance, academic guidance, study clubs, study workshops, external lectures, art exhibitions, concerts, seminars, cultural exchanges and activities directly related to their prospective area of study. In our teaching, we aim to help, stimulate, and challenge each student, and this aim is supported by careful monitoring and regular reporting. Therefore, the curriculum provided is balanced, broad and diverse.

A high priority is placed on communication with parents, and this is achieved through regular reporting, parent teacher meetings, parent and student information evenings and the facility for parents to meet with staff should they so request. Academic coordinators regularly review each student’s academic reports and liaise with teachers, the SEN department, students and parents, to ensure that any barriers to individual academic achievement are addressed.

Exam Results

The Leaving Certificate points obtained by our students consistently exceed the national average each year.  In 2019, 50% of our students attained in excess of 400 points, out of a maximum of 625, with 12% scoring in excess of 500 points and 4% in excess of 600 points. The average points attained by Villiers students in 2019 was 480, out of a maximum of 625.

The following links show how the Leaving Certificate points are calculated for entrance to UK Universities: Qualifax / UCAS Tariff Points  / UCAS Tariff Calculator

●        480 Points is equivalent to 3 x A* (UK A Levels)

●        100 Points is equal to 36 UCAS Tariff Points

●        One A* is equal to 56 UCAS Tariff Points

Additionally, academic success at Villiers has been recognized by the SEC, with a number of students achieving ‘highest grade’ awards in subjects such as Economics, Technology and German. 

Consistently, over 90% of our students progress on to third level education both in Ireland and abroad. Below is a list of institutions/locations where our students have progressed to, and the areas of study.

Further Education Destinations 

Cork Institute of Technology (CIT)            

Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands

Dublin City University (DCU)       

Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT)

Dun Laoghaire Institute of Art and Design

Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology (GMIT)

Harper Adams University, Scotland & Aberdeen

Kidalton Agricultural College

Limerick Institute of Technology (LIT)

Limerick School of Art and Design

London School of Economics

Maastricht University, The Netherlands

Mary Immaculate College (MIC)

National College of Art and Design (NCAD)

National University of Ireland, Galway (NUIG)     

National University of Ireland, Maynooth

Oxford University

Trinity College Dublin (TCD)        

University College Cork (UCC)

University College Dublin (UCD)

University of Groningen, The Netherlands

University of Limerick (UL)

University of Madrid, Spain

University of St. Andrews, Scotland

University of Tilberg, The Netherlands    

Queen Mary University of London

Queens University, Belfast

Areas of Further Education:

Accounting         

Actuarial Studies             

Agricultural Science

Architecture

Arts

Business

Biomedical Science

Business Information Systems

Commerce

Computer Science

Dentistry

Economics

Engineering

Environmental and Earth Sciences

Environmental Engineering

Finance

Financial Maths

Film Studies

Geography

History

Hotel Management

Human Rights

Information Systems

International Business

Journalism

Law

Law & Accounting

Liberal Arts

Mathematics

Medicine

Music

Nursing

Occupational Therapy

Pharmacy

Philosophy

Physics

Physiotherapy

Politics

Psychology

Radiography

Radiotherapy     

Science

Veterinary Medicine