In the second part of our Level Up series to mark the release of the Leaving Cert results this week, we looked at the issue of grinds. Are they worth the money, and do they provide an unfair advantage to those who can afford them?
Katherine Donnelly, education editor of the Irish Independent, pointed out that half of 6th year students were shown to be receiving grinds. They can be provided independently by a teacher, who will often charge per hour, or by a specific school.
"In a grinds school you might pay up to €900 a year for one subject, so it is quite a significant amount of money."
"I don't know what it says about the standard of teaching, but it's a reflection of the points system that we have here that students have felt they need to have the edge over others, so that's what has driven a lot of it."
John Winters, principal of Ashfield College in Dundrum, doesn't see the harm in students availing of grinds.
"We all have strengths and weaknesses, and if a student has a weakness in a particular subject it's perfectly acceptable. It's supporting revision. Teachers are moving ahead with the courses and not repeating what they did in 5th year, and for some students it's become a distant memory. We're just assisting them in their revision."
But Kieran Christie, general secretary of the ASTI, thinks that there's "a hunt for advantage."
"This is unfortunately playing on the fears of parents and students that if you're not taking grinds, you're not in the race in terms of getting into college. Ireland is sixth in the EU for science and ninth for maths. What that tells you is that if you go to a regular school and take the advice of your teachers, you will fare very well."
