Admissions Procedure

Research and Initial Contact

Before applying for your child to become a student at True Nature Sudbury School, we feel it is important for applicants to have a clear understanding of self-directed education and how our school functions in practice. Taking a look at the following links are a great place to start.

Sudbury Valley School

Peter Gray - Self Directed Education Video

Peter Gray; Free to Learn Book

Naomi Fisher: Changing Our Minds. How children can take control of their own learning

• We encourage parents to thoroughly explore the Sudbury School approach before applying or attend an open day to learn more. We have found that the more familiar a family is with the educational philosophy of the school, the better understanding they have and the more capable they are of supporting their child in this setting. Enrolling your child in this setting without a deep understanding of the philosophy and practice of self directed education, can lead to confusion and disappointment later. This can have a negative impact not only on the student and family involved, but also the entire school community. Therefore we cannot emphasise enough the importance of doing your research in advance to consider deeply if this is the right choice for your family.

  Having done your research and decided to proceed, we recommend that the family attend an Open Day to view the school and gain a deeper understanding of the school in practice. The next steps are as follows:

Application Form

• Submit a completed application form for each child together with the €50 fee. Once we receive your form and payment of the fee we will contact you to schedule an enrolment meeting.

Enrolment Meeting

• The enrolment meeting is your family’s opportunity to get to know the school, to ensure expectations match, and clarify any questions you may still have. An initial meeting should be attended by both parents/guardians where possible, and a second meeting should be attended also by the prospective student.

Practice Period

• "After the enrollment meeting, we'll review your application together to see if our school is a good fit for your child. If we think they'd thrive here, we'll offer them a place at the next available start date. The first four weeks of school are for them to adjust to the school community and learn our routines. We call this the 'practice- period.' At the end of this time, we'll have a meeting to discuss how things are going and confirm if everyone is happy with the fit. If so, we'll officially enroll your child.

Fees 2024/2025

€5,000 per school year for first child of the family.

€4,000 for the second child of the family.

€2,000 for any additional children.

Payment plans of monthly instalments of school fees can be arranged.

True Nature Sudbury School is a privately funded school that doesn’t receive government funding. To cover our operating costs, we charge school fees to all families. We also actively fundraise through donations, events, and volunteer efforts.