Moving to Dublin with kids: schools, areas and costs

Last reviewed: November 2026 by Catherine from ISA. Fee ranges are indicative; always confirm with the school.

Sutton Park School had 84 places in First Year for 2026-27 and received 228 applications, leaving 139 children on its waiting list. That one figure explains why moving to Dublin with kids goes better when the school search starts before the house hunt: popular schools fill through admission windows that open and close months before September.

Below: the areas families pick, how Irish schooling works, what the 2018 admissions law changes, which schools to visit, their 2026-27 fees and the first-week paperwork.

Where families live when moving to Dublin with kids

Most families weigh the southside coast, the southern suburbs around the M50 and the northside coast. The DART coastal line links Malahide and Howth with Blackrock, Dún Laoghaire and Greystones in County Wicklow, so a school near a station is easy to reach without a car.

• Dún Laoghaire, Blackrock and Booterstown: seafront suburbs near St Andrew's College.
• Leopardstown, Sandyford and Stillorgan: apartments and family estates around Nord Anglia International School Dublin.
• Malahide, Howth and Sutton: northside seaside villages, home to Sutton Park School.
• Ranelagh and Rathmines: red-brick streets south of the Grand Canal, with a Luas Green Line stop at Ranelagh, for parents who cycle to work.
• Greystones and Windgates: quieter Wicklow towns near SEK International School Dublin.

The figures are the RTB's standardised average rents for new tenancies in the first quarter of 2026. Stillorgan was the most expensive local electoral area in Ireland, and a three-bedroom house in County Dublin averaged €2,584.

How does the Irish school system work?

Ireland has an eight-year primary cycle followed by a five or six-year secondary cycle, and two sets of state exams shape the timetable of most local schools.

• Pre-school (about 3 to 5): the state ECCE scheme pays for free pre-school hours from roughly age three until a child starts primary, according to the EU's Eurydice network.
• Primary (4 or 5 to 12): junior infants, senior infants, then first to sixth class. Children can enrol from age 4, but school is only compulsory from 6.
• Junior Cycle (12 to 15): three years of lower secondary, assessed through the Junior Cycle Profile of Achievement.
• Transition Year: an optional year between the two cycles, taken by about two thirds of students on Eurydice's estimate.
• Leaving Certificate (16 to 18): two years ending in the state exam that drives entry to Irish universities.
• International Baccalaureate: an alternative to the Leaving Certificate at St Andrew's College and the whole curriculum at the two international schools below.

Free, fee-paying or international: what changes for admissions?

It depends on whether the Department of Education recognises the school. Recognised schools, which means the free state schools and the fee-charging secondary schools, follow Part X of the Education Act 1998, added by the Education (Admission to Schools) Act 2018.

• Published rules: each one publishes an admission policy and an annual admission notice giving the dates its application window opens and closes, at least three weeks apart.
• What a school cannot weigh: fees or contributions, your job or income, attendance at an interview or open day, or how early you applied within the window.
• No charge to apply: section 64 bans application and enrolment fees, except at listed fee-charging secondary schools and for boarding places.
• Waiting lists: an oversubscribed school keeps one for that school year, in priority order.

Sutton Park shows the rules in a fee-paying school: its window for First Year in 2027-28 ran from 1 to 22 October 2026, with decisions by 12 November, and after its own junior pupils, siblings and staff children, places go by lottery. Independent schools that are not recognised set their own rules, and if your child of compulsory school age attends one, you must register them with Tusla under section 14 of the Education (Welfare) Act 2000, as Sutton Park's junior school reminds parents.

International and fee-paying schools to shortlist

Nord Anglia International School Dublin

The school teaches the IB from KG3 to Grade 12 on its campus in South County Business Park, Leopardstown. Fees for 2026-27 are paid in euros, either for the year by 5 June 2026 or by term, and the second and later siblings get 5% off. Exams, camps, trips, buses and lunches are billed separately.

SEK International School Dublin

SEK's Irish campus is at Windgates, near Greystones in County Wicklow, south of the city, and takes students aged 12 to 18 in the IB Middle Years Programme and Diploma, with boarding options for teenagers who come without their parents. The school says it was the first in Ireland authorised for both programmes and quotes a ratio of one teacher to eight students. Fees are given on request, so ask for day and boarding rates in writing.

St Andrew's College

A fee-paying school in Booterstown with a junior school and a secondary school where students choose between the Leaving Certificate and the IB. For 2026-27 it charges €12,240 for the junior school, €9,560 for most secondary years, €10,090 for Transition Year and €12,600 for the IB programme. Certain additional IB subjects carry a charge of at least €5,000, and English as a second language support costs €850.

Sutton Park School

A multi-denominational, co-educational fee-paying school in Sutton with an independent junior school. Demand, not price, is the hurdle: 228 applications for 84 First Year places in 2026-27. Arriving mid-year, ask how it fills other year groups.

Families who want French or German alongside English can read our guide to bilingual and international schools in Dublin, which looks at the Lycée Français d'Irlande and St Kilian's German School.

What do schools in Dublin cost in 2026-27?

A recognised state school charges no tuition. It may ask for a voluntary contribution, but under section 64 paying it cannot be a condition of a place. Fee-paying and international schools publish yearly fees:

Sources: the Nord Anglia International School Dublin 2026-27 fee schedule and St Andrew's College's fee letter of 26 June 2026. Budget for these extras too:

• Enrolment fee: €1,600 at Nord Anglia Dublin once you accept an offer, with half credited against the first invoice.
• Payment plans: St Andrew's takes two instalments (1 September and 1 February) or a nine-month direct debit with a €55 charge.
• Smaller charges: at St Andrew's, €110 for junior school trips, €75 for a locker for new secondary students and €20 per family for the parents' association.

Paperwork for your first weeks

PPS numbers first. A child born abroad only gets a Personal Public Service number when a parent or guardian applies, and that parent must already hold one. Apply online through MyWelfare with a basic MyGovID account, or on form REG1M, with photo ID, proof of address no older than three months (a tenancy agreement counts) and the child's birth certificate.

Read the admission notices early. Download the annual admission notice of every recognised school near your likely address: windows for September often close the previous autumn. For international schools, apply once your dates are firm; Nord Anglia Dublin bills a full term of fees when an application arrives close to the start of term.

Run the numbers before you sign a lease. A three-bedroom house at the RTB county average of €2,584 a month comes to €31,008 a year; add Nord Anglia Dublin's €20,306 for a child in Grades 2 to 5 and you pass €51,000 before bills, transport and lunches.

Compare Dublin schools before you decide

Use our page on the best international schools in Dublin to compare curricula, fees and locations, then book visits near your chosen area.

More guides to schools in Dublin

• International school fees in Dublin
• International school admissions in Dublin
• How to choose an international school in Dublin
• Best international schools in Dublin
• best international schools in Dublin

Frequently asked questions

Is Dublin a good city for families moving from abroad?

For English-speaking families it is straightforward: lessons are in English, recognised state schools charge no tuition and the coastal suburbs give children space by the sea. The two pressure points are rent, with new tenancies in County Dublin averaging €2,335 a month in early 2026, and school places in popular areas. Plan the house and the school together.

Can my child start school in Dublin in the middle of the year?

Yes. Every recognised school's admission policy must explain how it admits students outside its main intake and after the school year starts, so ask for that procedure. International schools also take mid-year entrants: Nord Anglia International School Dublin bills a full term when an application arrives close to the start of term. Bring recent reports and your PPS paperwork.

Do international schools in Dublin follow the Irish curriculum?

Mostly not. Nord Anglia International School Dublin teaches the IB from KG3 to Grade 12, and SEK International School Dublin runs the IB Middle Years Programme and Diploma for ages 12 to 18. St Andrew's College offers both routes, the Leaving Certificate and an IB programme that costs €12,600 a year in 2026-27.