Douglas Community School offers your son an excellent education in a safe and secure suburban school environment.

  • Committed staff
  • Excellent teaching and results
  • Personal tutor of each student
  • Broad curriculum with all subjects at higher level
  • Continuous assessment of student progress
  • Supervised after-school study
  • Regular communication with parents
  • Clear disciplinary procedures applied justly
  • Active policy on bullying
  • Comprehensive pastoral care system
  • Strict school uniform policy
  • First class school facilities
  • Wide range of sports and extracurricular activities
  • Supervised lunch break

Douglas Community School is an all boys post-primary school.
DCS provides a wide range of subjects at honours level to
secondary students and also adult and community programmes. Our
first class facilities, educational, recreational and sporting,
are widely used by the wider community.

Board of Management

Douglas Community School is managed by a Board of Management representative
of our trustees, parents and teachers:

  • Parents
  • Staff
  • Bishop’s representatives (Trustees)
  • Local representatives (Trustees)
  • Principal (Secretary to Board of Management)

School Organisation

The Principal is responsible for the general direction and
management of the school. He is assisted in this role by the
Deputy Principal. Each year group has a Year Head responsible
for the day to day organisation of the group. Each class has
a Class Tutor who takes particular care of the students of that
class. We have a guidance counsellor, chaplain and pastoral care
team who offer support and encouragement to students experiencing
difficulties.

School commences at 8.40 a.m. and classes commence at 8.45
a.m. Students remain in school all day with a fifteen minute
morning break and a thirty minute lunch break. Classes finish
at 3.30 p.m. each day, except on Wednesday when they conclude
at 12.30 p.m. to allow for games. Students are supervised by
teaching staff during all breaks.

Our History

Douglas Community School was founded by the Presentation Brothers
almost forty years ago as Coláiste Muire (Presentation
Brothers College). Today the school continues to follow the tradition
of providing Christian education for boys, pioneered by Blessed
Edmund Ignatius Rice.

Douglas became one of the first Community Schools when the
Presentation Order passed on the management of the school to
the local community in 1974.

The school has prospered over the years growing in student
numbers and reputation.

  • 1926 Coláiste Muire (Presentation Brothers
    Juniorate)
  • 1965 Coláiste Muire (Presentation Brothers
    College)
  • 1974 Douglas Community School
  • 1997 Douglas area is the fastest growing suburb of
    Cork with a strong local economy. The South City Ring Road gives
    easy access to the school.

Development

Douglas has one of the widest choices of subjects in any school
in the country. We have also pioneered many educational initiatives.
These include Transition Year, Civic Social and Political Education,
Engineering, Computer Studies and Enterprise Education, Leaving
Certificate Applied Programme and Leaving Certificate Vocational
Programme.

Douglas also provides for the recreational and educational
needs of more than two thousand adults each year through the
Adult and Community Education programme. The school introduced
Open University degree programmes and NCIR and UCC Diplomas to
adults in the Munster region.

Regular Communication with Parents

At Douglas we are committed to involving parents in their
son’s education. We use a variety of methods to maintain contact
with the home including each student’s journal, regular reports
on continuous assessment, term reports, parent/teacher meetings,
other general information meetings and informal school events.

Douglas has a vibrant and dynamic Parents Association. As
well as contributing to the management of the school the Parents
Association organises various in-school events, library supervision
and have founded Badminton and Indoor Bowls Clubs for parents.

  • Active Parents Association supported by the Board
    of Management.
  • Inter-school meetings of Parents Associations – PACCS
  • Regular scheduled Parent Teacher meetings
  • Meetings (by appointment) with Class Tutors, Year
    Heads, Deputy Principal and Principal.

Discipline

Douglas has positive school rules and a clear code of behaviour.
Our rules reflect the ideals our students set for themselves.
The vast majority of our students live up to these ideals. Where
a student breaks the rules our disciplinary system is implemented
fairly. Sanctions range from verbal advice and warnings, written
notes to parents, detention after school, report cards to suspension
and expulsion for serious breaches of discipline. We expect the
support of parents in dealing with any problems of behaviour.

Guidance & Counselling

The school has a full-time guidance counsellor who provides
careers guidance, educational guidance and general counselling
for pupils. Careers information is also provided for parents.

The school has a careers library with classified careers information,
videos, Irish and UK colleges prospectuses and computerised careers
information.

Religious Education

The school has a full-time chaplain appointed by the Roman
Catholic Bishop of Cork and Ross with a pastoral role to care
for the spiritual development of students. The school also has
a number of catechists who provide religious education for all
students. Douglas welcomes students of all faiths.

Facilities

Douglas is an extremely well equipped school, with science
rooms (Physics, Chemistry and Biology), language rooms, Business
room, Geography room, practical studies rooms (Engineering, Construction
Studies, Woodwork and Technology), Religion room, Library, Careers
Library, Special Tuition room, Art room, two Computer rooms,
and an Oratory where students may reflect and pray in peace and
quiet.

The school is also well equipped for all sports with two grass
playing fields, one all-weather playing field, two tennis courts
and a large multi-purpose sports hall.

Achievements

  • Academic The academic achievements of students
    at Douglas are seen in the achievement of first place in Ireland
    and in Cork in Accounting, Mathematics, Biology and Geography
    in the past few years.
  • Past students We are justifiably proud of
    our past students who are found at all levels of the Professions,
    Industry and Commerce both in Ireland and abroad.
  • Young Enterprise and Mini-Companies – Douglas
    has been consistently successful in both these areas winning
    local, regional and national honours and representing Ireland
    in International competitions. Individual team members have won
    Best Manager, Best Accountant and Best Marketing Manager awards.
  • Internet – Our students have participated
    in the national Spin-a-WebCompetition for the past few years.
    Our team were national runners-up in the competition in 2001.
  • Debating Douglas is recognised as one of the
    premier debating schools in Ireland, winning individual and team
    honours in All-Ireland Concern Debates, Bank of Ireland Choice
    Debates, Philosophical Society Debates, All-Ireland German Debates,
    Cork Corporation Apple Computers Debates and the Cork Mental
    Welfare Association Debates. We are the only two-in-a-row winners
    of the National Mental Health Public Speaking Competition.
  • Sport Our "Sports for All" policy
    has led Douglas to participate in many sports rather than concentrating
    on a single code. Douglas has won major competitions in most
    codes, including hurling, Gaelic football, soccer, rugby, hockey,
    basketball, table tennis, athletics, tennis and golf.