A community school (Irish: pobalscoil) in the Republic of Ireland is a type of secondary school funded individually and directly by the state. Community and comprehensive schools were established in the 1960s to provide a broad curriculum for all the young people in a community. Both academic and vocational programmes are available and facilities are broader than at voluntary or vocational schools. The facilities are for use by the community and adult education in addition to normal programmes of education at this level.[1]
Many of these schools were established as the result of an amalgamation of voluntary secondary and vocational schools. They offer a wide range of both academic and vocational subjects. Community schools are managed by boards of management which are representative of local interests. The schools are financed entirely by the Department of Education and Skills. The representative body for these schools is the Association of Community and Comprehensive Schools.[2]