THE NUMBER of students taking grinds has declined for the first time in over a decade, as parents struggle with lower incomes and unemployment.
A new survey also found that the time spent by second-level students on sites like Twitter, Bebo and Facebook now exceeds the time allocated to study and homework.
Overall, 64 per cent of students are taking grinds – down from over 75 per cent at the height of the boom two years ago.
In recent years, grinds – costing parents an average of about €40 per hour – have become a routine part of second-level education.
But the survey from study skills group Student Enrichment Services (SES) indicates a more worrying trend for teachers who provide part-time grinds, as well as for the grind schools.
Last month, the High Court appointed a liquidator to one of Dublin’s leading grind schools, Ashfield College in Templeogue.
The court was told it had “no possibility of survival as a going concern”.
The school has a deficit of some €1.1 million and is insolvent, the court heard.
Enrolment is thought to be down by up to 15 per cent at several grind schools across the State. Many were established in the past decade in regional towns and centres.
The latest survey of over 500 students indicates that 53 per cent of Junior Cert students are taking grinds. Grinds are most popular with students in the greater Dublin region.
The grind schools culture has been strongly criticised by the teacher unions. John White, the ASTI general secretary, says there is little hard evidence to suggest that grind schools generate better results than “free” schools within the State sector.
According to the survey, the average Leaving Cert student spends 10 hours per week on homework; girls in Connacht and Munster are the most diligent.
On average, girls spent two hours longer per week on their assignments than their male counterparts, a factor which may explain why girls now routinely outperform boys in virtually all Leaving Cert subjects.
Seven hours per week was the average amount of time allocated to study by the Leaving Cert students surveyed.
This year’s survey shows that just over a quarter of Leaving Cert students have part-time jobs.
On computer usage, boys are still spending about two hours per week longer online than girls.
Organised sport is most popular with boys in Dublin and in the rest of Leinster.
SES is a leading provider of study skills courses in schools and colleges.
