Second Level

News and advice on the second-level education system.

Catholic education is not about indoctrination - it is about preparing pupils to contribute to the common good

Religious education fosters the ability to appreciate diversity without diluting one’s own beliefs

The role of school principal is no longer sustainable

We are expected to be chief executives, HR directors, compliance officers and facilities managers, all while leading learning, managing behaviour, supporting parents and safeguarding children

Leaving Cert English oral exam to be delayed for a year

Moves comes as teachers are balloted over whether to back changes or embark on industrial action in the autumn

‘I worry that my anxious son will buckle under pressure during the Leaving Cert’

Simple steps can help students navigate stress and promote greater resilience

Plan to streamline school admissions amid criticism of ‘chaotic’ system

Parents complain of long waiting lists and uncertainty over school places in commuter belt areas

Boy who repeated sixth class because schools were full still has no secondary school place

Rapid population growth causing enrolment pressure in commuter belt, say families

How a Dublin school is challenging our university-first mindset

These students are learning to radiators and toilets. It is part of a move to promote vocational options and tackle ‘snobbery’ around alternatives to college

A national convention more than 30 years ago changed Irish education. What lessons are there for today?

Helen McEntee is planning the ‘largest conversation on education in the State’s history’. She would do well to examine the legacy of a landmark report from three decades ago

New measures aim to tackle ‘hugely alarming’ school absenteeism rates

Official figures show 110,000 primary and 65,000 post-primary students missed 20 or more days in the 2022/2023 year

Does my daughter need a postgrad to get a decent job in engineering?

Degrees with integrated work placements help students can gain essential industry skills and personal attributes which employers look for

Teachers are being bullied into accepting reforms that will damage education

Unethical use of AI is rampant and in danger of producing students whose degrees are essentially meaningless

Co Offaly students claim prestigious award at World Robotics Championships

Group from Sacred Heart Secondary School in Tullamore won judges’ prize for their creation, Agatha Trunchbull

Second-generation immigrants more likely to aspire to go to university, study finds

Landmark study finds immigrant families feel strengths of education system include support and culture of care

Teachers face loss of 5% pay increase if Leaving Cert reforms blocked

Teacher unions to ballot members on whether to accept package or take industrial action in September

Disruptive students are being enabled to cause mayhem in classrooms

Teaching staff witness a merry-go-round of ineffective dead-ends posing as ‘consequences’.

Degrees without CAO points were meant to be a ‘game changer’. Why do so few students avail of them?

Simon Harris said tertiary degrees meant students would not have to worry about Leaving Cert points

My son wants to be a pilot. Is there any way of learning without breaking the bank?

It is very expensive, but joining the Air Corps can provide a route into civilian aviation

Synge Street CBS teachers may take industrial action over Gaelcholáiste plan

School patron says school is facing ‘serious sustainability challenges’ due to declining enrolment

‘It comes from fear’: Aoife Daly on parents’ battles to get autistic children into schools

Inspectors find ‘almost all’ schools in study had criteria which could limit enrolment of pupils with learning difficulties

Teachers are using a ‘viral’ AI tool to grade students’ Leaving Cert work. It’s convenient - but is it ethical?

A new AI model trained to mark Leaving Cert work is going ‘viral’. Many educators are embracing it, even as they express concern about the ethics of student use

Leaving Cert textbook author resigns from curriculum reform group amid ‘dumbing down’ concerns

University lecturer says original vision of construction studies subject is ‘all but abandoned’ in new draft

Teacher’s rape conviction ‘fundamentally incompatible’ with profession and its values, says Teaching Council panel

Patrick Joseph Bardon is serving a 10-year sentence in the Midlands Prison for the oral rape of one of his then students in the 1990s

Children protest outside Dáil over failure to provide Irish-medium secondary school

No progress made in transition of CBS Synge Street to a coeducational Irish-medium Gaelcholáiste, campaigners say

Middle-class students may benefit most from Leaving Cert reform, say principals

More resources needed to support teaching and learning changes, poll of school leaders finds

Abolition of pre-teen pupil selection will not solve North’s school-leaver problem, says leading academic

Republic’s education system should ‘not be too smug’ as it too streams students, Prof Anne Looney says

School secretaries to strike in September unless pensions issue resolved, union warns

Fórsa set to ballot members over industral action commencing at start of new school year

Job security boost for special needs assistants in schools under new scheme

New scheme will allow SNAs to be redeployed to other schools if no longer required

Ireland an ‘outlier’ in requiring religious certs to teach in most primary schools

Delegates at INTO annual congress highlight ‘mismatch’ between modern society and education system

Helen McEntee announces ‘largest national conversation on education in the State’s history’

National Convention planned to explore how nation can secure ‘best outcomes in world’ for students

No other OECD country spends a lower proportion of GDP on education than Ireland. Why?

In an uncertain world, we need to give our students the best chance of reaching their potential

More students to get higher Junior Cycle grades under reforms

Move follows criticism from students and teachers over ‘harsh’ scoring system

Sharp rise in assaults at schools pushing teachers to ‘breaking point’

Almost 60 per cent of educators experienced physical aggression, with rates highest in special schools

‘You don’t really live’: Long-distance commuting teachers priced out of Dublin

The housing crisis is resulting in acute teacher shortages, say teachers’ unions, whose annual conferences get under way this week. Is there any solution in sight?

Expansion of therapy services in special schools to start in autumn

Programme will coincide with the establishment of a national therapy service in education, Minister says

Mission accomplished: Irish teens win top prize in Nasa space design contest

Second-level students eclipse thousands of global competitors with space-settlement plans

High levels of burnout and poor mental health among teachers

DCU research comes as schools grapple with staff shortages

First look: Sample Leaving Cert exam papers for brand new subjects

Biggest reforms in half century will see a minimum of 40% awarded for coursework

School-leavers with disabilities have lots to offer – we must do more to support them

Leaving school means leaving a caring community and a familiar routine. It shouldn’t mean losing one’s ability to leave the house as well

Department of Education faces UN complaint over school guidance on use of physical restraint

Campaigners say new rules fail to protect vulnerable children

Leaving Cert Oral English exam a potentially great idea but piling assessments on stressed students and teachers is not

By 2029, 41 subjects will have been redeveloped. Most will have an additional component such as a project or investigation

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