Within the Irish context St. Columba’s College is a unique institution, a Church of Ireland foundation offering full-time, seven days a week boarding, with an increasing number of day students. We pride ourselves on the exceptional quality of pastoral care that we provide and which we believe is up there with the very best boarding schools in the world. On top of that we aim to produce the best Leaving Certificate results in the whole country, as well as running a full and busy programme of cultural and sporting activities. Many of our dedicated staff reside on the beautiful site, giving round the clock care and ensuring that the children are happy and safe at all times.

A school is far more than its academic or sporting results and all that we do here is within a context that encourages and nurtures the spiritual development of all our children. An outsider might raise an eyebrow at our gowned pupils and our daily chapel services, which may seem archaic in these times, but the truth is that we look to combine our deep sense of tradition with a pursuit of excellence in preparing our young people for success at the top universities and beyond, through a very modern and forward looking education. Personally I think we get the balance just right.

I became Warden of St. Columba’s in September 2016, having taught in and led boarding schools in the UK and South Africa. It is a great challenge to lead this great school into its next phase of development, as we seek to benchmark ourselves not just against other top schools in Ireland, but against the very best schools that can be found anywhere.

If you would like to visit us and see what is so special about the school on the hill overlooking Dublin then I would be delighted to welcome you.

Mark Boobbyer, Warden, St. Columba’s College.

Read the Warden’s Blog here.