Private school to hire 80 teachers on rates above public sector

A private international school set to open in south Dublin next year is planning to hire at least 80 teachers on pay levels above those offered in the public system.

The international school, which will cater for up to 800 students, will be based in a €20 million office block formerly used by Microsoft close to the Leopardstown Racecourse.

It will be operated by Nord Anglia Education, a Hong Kong-based firm which describes itself as the "world's leading premium schools organisation", and is aimed mainly at children of multinational executives.

However, the school says it hopes it can attract significant numbers of locally based students.

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Andrew Fitzmaurice, the firm's chief executive, confirmed that fees for the new school will be in the region of about €20,000 a year for second-level day pupils, which would make it the country's most expensive school.

He also said it was in the process of interviewing 75 candidates to fill the role of principal.

Commence hiring

Once this position is filled, Nord Anglia plans to commence hiring new teachers for the school over the coming months.

While he would not disclose the terms and conditions of teachers, the firm says it hires teaching staff on rates above those in the public sector.

It expects that about a third of teachers will be drawn from within the Nord Anglia’s network of international schools, with the remainder hired locally.

He said there had been a surge of expressions of interest among teachers within its network over the possibility of working in Ireland, while it has had more than 300 expressions of interest from parents and teachers in Ireland so far.

The school is to provide education from primary up to second level, focusing on the International Baccalaureate rather than the State curriculum.

Mr Fitzmaurice said Nord Anglia is also in talks with universities over the possibility of forming partnerships which could lead to the training of teachers to teach the International Baccalaureate.

He said a key attraction of this educational approach was its emphasis on “21st century skills” and its “portability”, which allows students to move seamlessly between different countries without hindering their education.