Question<\/b><\/p>\n
My daughter returned to school last week to discover that a number of her classmates had left and are now studying for the <\/b>Leaving Cert<\/b><\/a> in a popular grind school. She is now pressuring us to allow her to join them.<\/b><\/p>\n I don\u2019t want to diminish her academic progression opportunities, but as a former past pupil of her current school myself, I <\/b>value the lifelong friendships and past pupils\u2019 union involvement I still enjoy. So, I <\/b>wonder <\/b>about the wisdom of the move.<\/b><\/p>\n I contacted the grind school in question to ask about the cost, <\/b>but it turns out they have been fully subscribed for incoming fifth-year students since June.<\/b><\/p>\n Answer<\/b><\/p>\n Grind schools have grown to become a significant presence in many of our cities. The Irish Times recently highlighted the profitability of one particular school<\/a> as having risen from \u20ac3 million to \u20ac9 million over the past three years. Therefore, their presence and growth is definitely market driven. <\/p>\n Many parents struggle with the question you pose, that of academic achievement. Do grind schools improve on the results that students would have achieved if they had stayed in their original school?<\/p>\n When we in the Irish Times seek and secure data annually for our academic progression charts for schools, grind-school data is never provided. Marketing on behalf of grind schools tends to involve photos of very happy, high-achieving students after receiving their Leaving Cert results. However, some of these institutions have over 1,000 registered students. This is why such photos, though accurate, can be deceptive.<\/p>\n Last week, some of this year\u2019s Leaving Certs failed to secure the grades required for their top CAO<\/a> course choice. The fear of this happening to your child is one of the drivers of grind school enrolment.<\/p>\n