There is a widespread notion that, by sending your children to a fee-paying secondary school, you are giving them a better chance of succeeding in their educational careers . . . and, by extension, in their working careers. This notion is based, in part, on exam results and unofficial league tables, which consistently place schools such as Gonzaga College in Ranelagh, South Dublin, or Holy Child Secondary School in Killiney at, or near, the top of the list in term of the percentage of students progressing to third level education (that list is also frequently topped by the Institute of Education, which takes students from fifth year onwards). But these lists also point to strong performances by certain non-fee paying schools (for example, St Laurence College in Loughlinstown or St Aloysius College in Athlone), which, although not debunking the league table approach, does certainly give some food for thought as to whether the fees paid are worth the money from the perspective of mere results.

Indeed, it could be argued that schools which perform consistently well do so largely as a result of their student intake, rather than the standards of education offered.

It is a widely accepted fact that students from middleclass backgrounds tend to do better (en masse) than those from other backgrounds (this has been backed up by recent Department of Education and Science reports) . . . so the question of whether or not the parents pay fees is something of a moot point if the majority of students in a classroom come from a background which tends to perform better. This is supported by the fact that Colaiste Iosagan in South Dublin, a voluntary Gaelscoil, also features highly on the list of best performing schools . . .it is non-fee-paying, but is situated in the heart of affluent Southeast Dublin.

All of which should lead to the conclusion that your children have as good a chance in public education as they would in private education . . .as long as the students in the school are of sufficient calibre.

One of the reasons why the schools in affluent urban areas tend to perform better is because of the higher ratios of students from middle and upper-middle class backgrounds. And the reason why these tend to go to private schools rather than public or non-fee-paying schools is that there just happens to be more of a concentration of fee-paying schools in these areas (ask a South Dubliner to name a community school in his or her area, and they may well struggle).

"South Dublin is very different to the rest of the country, " explained Ciaran Flynn, general secretary of ACCS (the Association of Community and Comprehensive Schools). "North Dublin has some community schools which are right up there with the top performing South Dublin schools, while around the country, it is often the case that the community school is the only school in the area, and these schools produce successful students even with a mixed social influx."

So what are the advantages of sending your children to a community or comprehensive school?

There is the ethos which underpinned the founding of both Comprehensives (in the 1960s) and Community Schools (in the 1970s), both of which combined the practical styles of the vocational schools with the academic styles of the traditional second-level schools. Secondly, teachers in the community sector have to be subject specific (this is not the case in other sectors). But there is also a greater level of openness and participation in ACCS schools, greater certainly than has been found among the private schools in the past. The Education Act saw the establishment of boards of management at Comprehensive and Community Schools which include representatives of VECs, religious orders, teachers and parents.

"There is a religious background to many of the schools, thanks largely to their roots, but every community and comprehensive school is set up to be multi-denominational, " explained Flynn.

This multi-denominational approach will be particularly welcome for those parents who have become disillusioned with the religious dominance of secondary education in Ireland. But, leaving behind any religious reasons for and against attendance at a particular school, there is also the particular issue of funding, which is a major selling point for the ACCS sector.

"It's no secret that we are possibly the best funded sector in education, " said Flynn.

"This is because we are totally under the auspices of the Department, and so we don't have funding opportunities from any other sources. So any new building, any change of building, is totally resourced by the Department, as is any equipment that is needed."

Of course, practically any of the fee-paying schools can also fund building projects and equipment procurement . . .

although any student with experience of even the best of the private schools in the past will know that they didn't always move particularly quickly to improve their equipment or buildings.

Even the best funded school with the newest equipment and buildings will find it difficult to attract the best students if there is an option which seems to offer a much better opportunity for better results in all examinations. So are community schools really going to be first choice for parents looking for the best for their children's futures?

"The whole point is about demographics, " said Flynn. "We can hold our own with any schools if we are coming from the same place. If we are situated in a place where there are 90% middle class kids, then we would get the same results as any other school in the area . . . it's just that, in the community sector, there tends not to be as many schools with a 90% middle class intake.

But the main thing to say to parents thinking of sending their children to a particular school is that they should not take anyone's word for public or private schools . . . they should go in and find out for themselves what the school is like."