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The new Grind School Culture
by Michelle Crawley

Competition for third level places has intensified in Ireland in recent years. More and more students are facing this gigantic mountain of stress and study that is called the ‘Points Race’. Any student wishing to study Medicine, Vetinery, Law or Psychology must be aiming for the six A’s in higher level papers.

For some this means paying huge sums of money for the best education and opportunities. These fee-paying schools market themselves to their best advantage and their P.R efforts go a long way.

The Institute of Education on Leeson Street, takes in more than nine million per annum. A recent student enrichment service survey highlights that the Institute is the most expensive grind school in the country, with annual hikes in the fee. The current fee is well over 5,400 Euro per year. However this does not stop parents, who will readily part with the money in order to give their children the best teachers and tutors. Fee paying schools continue to dominate the tables.  

The Less Stress More Success Machine

Yeats College Galway enrols students from Galway, Mayo, Sligo, Roscommon and Clare. The grind school charges up on 5,000 per year, which does not even include the cost of accommodation in Galway. Parents easily fork out another 5,000 to keep their child for the school year. The question we must ask, is why people are willing to pay for something which is readily available for free in local schools? What makes Grind Schools, the elite leaving cert, less stress, more success machine?

The arguments that most parents provide are rooted in the fact that secondary schools have combinations of both good and bad teachers and for students it is a matter of pot luck. Grind schools focus on the CAO; they hone in on the key objectives and teach study skills. There is no doubt about it, that students come out trumps, but how much of the success lies with the educator as opposed to the scholar.

John White, the ASTI general secretary stated that; “there is not the slightest scintilla of evidence that a pupil of equal academic ability does any better in a grind school than in an ordinary secondary school”.  

A Growth Story

The rapid growth in the numbers attending grinds of some kind has alarmed the educators of this nation. The recent student enrichment service survey shows that 70% of secondary students attend grinds. 64% of Leaving cert students and 45% of fifth year students and more surprisingly many junior cert students are attending these cramming hothouses for tuition.

This trend is spiralling out of control and trickling down to first year students, with one in four taking grinds after school. The questions we must ask is what does this say about our education system and where will it end?  

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