Carl O’Brien: ‘Are grinds really worth it?
Booming private tuition sector promises top grades but studies raise questions about its true effectiveness
Classroom to College
Sign up to Classroom to College newsletter from The Irish Times. Led by Education Editor Carl O'Brien, the essential newsletter to navigating the Leaving Cert for parents, guardians and students
Leaving Cert grinds industry: ‘Salaries scales for the top teachers can be 100 to 250 grand’
Teacher poaching rows and claims of ‘unsustainable’ wages are part and parcel of a highly competitive private tuition sector
Carl O’Brien: ‘It’s Leaving Cert holiday time: euphoria for students, despair for parents’
The silence may seem unnerving at first. No doors slamming, no mysterious thumps upstairs - but, then, something shifts ...
Leaving Cert holidays 2025: Pupils and parents on ‘hellish’ Albufeira, ‘crazy’ Zante and ‘cultural’ Berlin
For parents, this can be a nerve-racking time, ‘but you also have to let them experience things’
Leaving Cert physical education (PE): Students pushed for time with longer questions
Candidates had to ‘race through’ sections only to be faced with more daunting long answers
Leaving Cert economics: A ‘great paper’ with topical questions
Students hoping for high marks needed to have studied entire course
Carl O’Brien: ‘Why many of today’s apprentices are out-earning college graduates’
School leavers have a choice of some 77 apprenticeship programmes across every sector of the economy from ICT to financial services
Leaving Cert music: A challenging paper with some familiar Irish musicians
Hozier, the Cranberries, Dermot Kennedy and Cian Ducrot make appearance
Officials investigate after teacher is alleged to have helped students during Leaving Cert exam at Dublin school
Education authority says its takes responsibility to uphold integrity of the State exams with ‘utmost seriousness’
Carl O’Brien: ‘The little college with big Oscar success’
Academic high achievers can often be better served in a creative, technical or practical further education courses
Carl O’Brien: ‘Third level’s best kept secret?’
Tertiary degrees offer a route to college without any need for CAO points. So, where’s the catch?
Carl O’Brien: ‘Jonathan Anderson shows passion - not CAO points - is what matters’
As Leaving Certs complete their final exams, it can be a powerful and sometimes overwhelming moment of transition
Leaving Cert agricultural science: Some curveballs but lots of choice
Many questions pitched just outside students’ comfort zones
Carl O’Brien: ‘A secret weapon to defusing exam tension at home: the Dad joke’
After eight days of gruelling State exams, a much-needed weekend of respite stretches ahead
Leaving Cert parent: It is cruel and unusual punishment - but sometimes you have to laugh
My Dad jokes have been an important mood breaker recently - or so I like to think
Leaving Cert German: a demanding exam which pushed students to ‘think outside the box’
Linguistic challenges posed by novel topics posed steep challenges for weaker students in particular
Carl O’Brien: ‘Have you got your kitchen table back yet?’
The worst is over - and family meals may even make a comeback
Leaving Cert business: Exam right on the money with wide choice and familiar questions
While questions on tax and ratio analysis required some maths, students could avoid them due to wide choice
Live reaction: A ‘thrilling’ start to Leaving Cert art exam, but essays challenged many students
Junior Cycle students have German and wood technology exams while it is business and art papers for Leaving Certs
Carl O’Brien: ‘Is the Leaving Cert one of the toughest exams in the world?’
The State exams are a physically and mentally draining marathon - but some simple steps can help students protect their wellbeing
Reaction to day six of the State exams: tricky tests for Leaving Certs in French and history
Almost 100,000 students are completing papers on day six of the State exams
Leaving Cert history: A tricky paper where students were pushed to think on their feet
Reappearance of topics from last year throws some candidates
Leaving Cert French: tricky vocab and grammar questions pose a challenge
Students may have found aural tougher than last year as the pace of the speakers increased
Carl O’Brien: ‘Day five is done - and the hardest part is over’
Irish and biology get a thumbs up as students near the finish line
Leaving Cert biology: Plenty of choice but challenging in places
Students give thumbs up to a ‘fair’ and ‘accessible’ paper
Leaving Cert student diary: ‘Biology isn’t my strongest subject - but that was a lovely paper’
Our diarist loves sports and hopes to study physiotherapy - but must still navigate his way through a few more exams
Reaction to Leaving Cert Irish paper two and biology: ‘Student-friendly, balanced and fair’
More than 100,000 students are sitting State exams today
Leaving Cert Irish paper two: Sighs of relief as predicted topics make for approachable exam
Teachers say broad and approachable questions featured in higher level paper
As it happened: Reaction to Leaving Cert Irish paper one and maths paper two
Teachers describe exam as a ‘fair and balanced’ with plenty of options for students to succeed
Carl O’Brien: how will the post-marking adjustment affect students’ results?
Marking schemes to be drawn up for exams shortly will take account of exams which papers were ‘hard’ or ‘easy’
Leaving Cert maths paper 2: Students seeking H1s or H2s find paper particularly challenging
Teachers say higher level paper two was even more testing than paper one
Reaction to Leaving Cert maths paper one: ‘This was challenging for everyone’
Geography and maths paper one for Leaving Certs; history and maths for Junior Cycle students
Carl O’Brien: ‘Take a deep breath Leaving Cert students - the weekend is a time to recharge’
The exams are a marathon, not a sprint: rest is just as important as study
Leaving Cert student diary: ‘I’m proof there’s an alternative to incredibly stressful exams’
Amy Cox is sitting the Leaving Cert Applied programme, which offers more vocational and practical approaches
State exams body defends ‘curveball’ short story question in Junior Cycle English paper
Commission says short stories are ‘fully within the scope’ of the curriculum
Leaving Cert student diary: ‘I’m running on adrenaline ... Albufeira, we’re coming for you!’
Our exam diarist was happy her favourite poet appeared but not with the ‘very specific’ questions on English paper two
Carl O’Brien: ‘Students buoyed by positive start to State exams 2025’
We’ve gathered advice, tips and simple reminders to make the coming days a little bit easier
Reaction to Leaving Cert English paper two as it happened: Relief as much-predicted Eavan Boland features
Engineering and English paper 2 for Leaving Certs as Junior Cycle students face Irish and geography
Helen McEntee on her Leaving Cert: ‘Let’s put it this way - I wasn’t aiming for 500 or 600 points’
Minister for Education loved art, music and English at secondary school but struggled with physics
Junior Cycle Irish: Relief among students over ‘fair’ and ‘relatable’ exam paper
Much anticipated topic of climate change appears in reading comprehension
Junior Cycle English exam: ‘Curveball’ short story question trips up some students
Teachers say paper struck a good balance between familiarity and challenge
Leaving Cert day one as it happened: ‘Challenging’ English paper one and ‘nice’ home economics exam
Live updates: A record number of students – 136,000 – began their State exams on Wednesday morning
Leaving Cert home economics: ‘Practical, topical, no curveballs’
Appearance of predicted materials will have helped offset some of the more niche questions
Carl O’Brien: ‘Day one done’ - Leaving Cert tips for students and their supporters
We’ve gathered advice, tips and simple reminders to make the coming weeks a little bit easier
Leaving Cert diary: ‘My short story was set in interwar Italy when communists and fascists battled it out’
Most writers do several drafts of a story to make it perfect – but not when it’s English paper one
Leaving Cert and Junior Cycle: Record 140,000 to sit State exams
Controversial post-marking adjustment to mean lower grades on aggregate for class of 2025
Leaving Cert parent: ‘Is there any chance we can have the kitchen table back?’
Whatever happens to in the next few weeks, we know our daughter will meet this challenge like all others. We couldn’t be prouder of her
‘The system is under real pressure’: why do so many Leaving Cert pupils need special supports?
One in four students sitting State exams is availing of ‘reasonable accommodation’ such as spelling waivers, reading assistance or smaller exam centres
Leaving Cert: last-minute subject-by-subject exam tips
Teachers and experts share their best tips for how to best prepare for the exams
Brian Mooney’s Leaving Cert survival guide: Get seated 30 minutes before the exam – and don’t wear a smartwatch
There is no need for parents to overhype the importance of the exams – students put themselves under enough pressure as it is
The Leaving Cert is not a meritocracy. Elitism is baked into Irish education
Grinds, evening classes, weekend blitzes and Easter revision camps are marketed with precision and priced at a premium
The rise of extreme Leaving Cert study regimes online: 5am alarms and marathon cramming sessions
Many Leaving Cert students are sharing their pre-exam regimes on social media - but education experts warn of burnout
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