How one Longford family is already preparing for the return to school

Dee and Mark Kenny, who live with their three children, Leah, Tim and David, on the peaceful shores of Lough Ree in Blenavoher, Lanesborough, Co Longford have been preparing for September’s return to school ever since the holidays began.

“You balance it out. You get some bits and pieces over the summer so as not to leave too much to the end. Every week we pick up something like a new uniform or stationery or the special offers,” says Dee.

Nine-year-old David and 11-year-old Tim go to Fermoyle National School, while 13-year-old Leah will be going to secondary school for the first time at Lanesborough Community College, a 10-minute drive away.

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“We’re lucky that both Fermoyle and the secondary school are Deis schools. So, we don’t have huge book fees that other schools might have. It’ll probably cost €1,000 for the three between uniforms, books, stationery and the different fees for going back to school.

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“I know that can be a lot higher for different places, but because it’s Deis they won’t need an iPad and because we live so close to the schools we don’t have bus fees,” she says.

Though he likes the summer holidays, David is looking forward to going back to class, “and seeing my friends”, while Leah is keen to go to secondary school for the first time. However, Tim is less convinced.

Their mother, Dee, originally from near Mountmellick, Co Laois and who now works with Longford County Council, is, unusually perhaps, a fan of summer holidays. “I like the not as much of a routine,” she says, “it is nice that for two months you do not have to be somewhere all the time.”

Husband, Mark, an IT worker with Eir, agrees: “There is more freedom for the kids and less planning during the summer. There’s not as much pressure during the summer. When they do go back, you are in more of a routine.

“But it’s a bit more relaxed during the summer time. You don’t have to get them up and out in the morning and they seem more relaxed,” he says.