New pilot online school admissions system ‘applytoschool.ie’ goes live
- Foilsithe:
- An t-eolas is déanaí: 1 Deireadh Fómhair 2025
Minister for Education and Youth, Helen McEntee TD, has today (1 October) welcomed the launch of a new pilot online application system for post-primary school admissions. The new system will be piloted in Athenry, Celbridge, Clonakilty, Greystones and Tullamore/Killina. Enrolling in school can be a stressful time for parents, and this new pilot aims to streamline the admissions process and make it easier and clearer. The system, available at applytoschool.ie, will go live on Wednesday, 1 October until Wednesday 22 October and allows parents and guardians to apply for first-year places, including special class places, using a quick and easy online application.
Minister McEntee thanked the fifteen participating schools for their leadership and commitment to the pilot:
“I want to acknowledge the tremendous work that has been done by staff in these post-primary schools who have worked with parents and the department to prepare for this launch. This pilot is a major step toward delivering a nationwide common application system that will simplify the admissions process for families and schools alike.
"The move from primary to post-primary school can be stressful for families and the aim of this new online pilot application is to ease the burden on families around the application phase. This pilot is a first step to introducing a more streamlined approach for families and schools, including those looking for a special class placement, and will offer valuable insights as we work towards a nationwide roll-out.
“A major benefit of the pilot will be that after a parent accepts an offer in round 1, any other school in which that parent has accepted a place will be notified. These parents will be contacted directly by the schools and asked to choose their preferred school, allowing those other schools to offer those places to other children in round 2. This will ensure significantly greater transparency for schools and ensure that school places are allocated more quickly and efficiently.”
Minister of State with responsibility for Special Education and Inclusion, Michael Moynihan T.D. said:
“It’s fantastic to see this school admissions pilot system being rolled-out. This will make an enormous difference to families up and down the country and will give peace of mind to parents, especially those seeking a special educational placement. I want to thank the staff, patrons and management bodies for their continued support in this pilot programme.”
This new online application system which opens this Wednesday 1 October to Wednesday 22 October will streamline the admissions process, improve transparency, support the department’s planning for school places and ensure fairer access for all students. Round one offers will go out on 12 November, round two offers will go out on 4 December.
Apply to School is the first step in this incremental development process. Learnings from this, and from other coordinated admissions processes in place at various locations across the country, will inform the development and implementation of the Programme for Government commitment.
A key element of the project is the standardisation of the timeline for the admissions process across all schools in the pilot areas. This includes:
- fixed dates for the opening and closing of the application window
- synchronised offers of places
- coordination of pre-enrolment on the post primary on-line database (PPOD) that will identify duplicate accepted places.
Notes to Editor
The Department of Education and Youth is responding to growing challenges in school admissions, including demographic changes, increased demand for special class places, and administrative pressures caused by duplicate applications and cross-area enrolments.
List of schools participating in this pilot:
Athenry:
- Clarin College
- Coláiste an Eachréidh
- Presentation College
Celbridge
- Celbridge Community School
- Salesian College
- St Wolstan's Community School
Clonakilty
- Clonakilty Community College
- Sacred Heart Secondary School
Greystones
- Greystones Community College
- St David's Holy Faith Secondary
- Temple Carrig Secondary School
Tullamore/Killina
- Coláiste Choilm
- Killina Presentation Secondary School
- Sacred Heart Secondary School
- Tullamore College
Engagement with key stakeholders has been an integral part of the project to date. The Department of Education and Youth has worked closely with schools in the pilot areas, their patrons and management bodies. Consultation and engagement has also taken place with other education sector bodies including the National Council for Special Education, Tusla’s Education Support Service, the National Parents Council, and local primary schools
Timelines:
| applytoschool.ie online application system opens | 01 October 2025 |
| applytoschool.ie online application system closes | 22 October 2025 |
| Round one offers | 12 November 2025 |
| Acceptance of round one offers | 21 November 2025 |
| Round two offers | 04 December 2025 |
| Acceptance of round two offers | 11 December 2025 |