The Leaving Cert is not a meritocracy. Elitism is baked into Irish education
There has been a lot of discussion about the unfairness of grind schools, and rightly so, but the issue runs deeper than a handful of elite institutions. We need to start talking about grinds as part of a larger problem, one that reflects how elitism is baked into the infrastructure of Irish education. A system where access to additional support is shaped not by need, but by postcode and income. A system where grinds, once intended to support struggling students, now operate as yet another instrument of advantage for those already ahead.
[
Classroom to college: our essential Leaving Cert guide for parents, guardians and students
]
Grind schools with full-time timetables and five-figure fees have become the poster children of this ecosystem, and they warrant scrutiny not just for who they serve, but for how they've normalised a model that commercialises success. Their extensive part-time offerings, evening classes, weekend blitzes and Easter revision camps, are marketed with precision and priced at a premium.
Alongside an expanding network of private tutors and agencies, they reflect a broader reality: public education is no longer perceived as enough.
READ MORE
Grinds have been part of Irish education for decades, but what was once viewed as a remedial safety net has evolved into a shadow economy, one where high-achieving students turn to extra tuition as a competitive necessity.
Over half
of Leaving Cert students now take grinds, and that
number is rising
. This year alone prices have increased by as much as 23 per cent, with some providers now charging up to €100 an hour, meaning a single subject can cost families over €1,500 for the year. For households managing two or three grinds, the total can rival private school tuition, with none of the systemic support.
This inequality is geographical as well as financial. The most widely known, incumbent grinds options are concentrated in and around South Dublin. These are areas where transport links are strong, marketing budgets are high, and families are willing and able to pay. Students elsewhere, in rural communities or underfunded schools, often have to settle for far less. Less choice, less structure, less access. And so, the gap widens, quietly but relentlessly.
The State tells students they all sit the same paper, but some will walk into that exam hall with ten months of extra teaching behind them, others will walk in with none
The impact is not just financial, it's emotional and cultural, with grinds becoming a shorthand for doing everything possible to get ahead. For students who can't afford them, it can feel like being left behind before the race even starts. Just imagine being told your classmates are getting extra notes, mock papers, and exam strategy sessions, all while knowing you can't access the same because of where you live.
That pressure shows up everywhere, in the anxiety that builds as the CAO deadline approaches, in the hours spent commuting to revision courses, and in the narrowing of education to what's examinable. The State tells students they all sit the same paper, but some will walk into that exam hall with ten months of extra teaching behind them, others will walk in with none. The idea that this is fair is a story we tell ourselves, but it's not one our students believe.
The truth is that grinds are just one part of a broader national story, a symptom of a society increasingly divided along lines of income and access. In housing, in healthcare, in education, we see again and again how opportunity is being privatised, how those with the means to pay are stepping further ahead while others are locked out. The grinds economy reflects that same logic: if you can afford it, there's a door. If not, you're left behind, watching others walk through.
Grinds aren't the problem, access is. Extra tuition can play a powerful role in supporting students, teachers, parents, and schools. When done well, it gives learners the best possible chance at success. But right now, grinds operate like a premium product, reserved for those who can afford it. That's not a reflection of their value, but of a broken model. It's time to break that cycle, grinds schools are elitist, but they do not have to be.
Brendan Kavanagh is founder and chief executive of the global EdTech company,
Olive
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Times
4 hours ago
- Irish Times
Letters to the Editor, July 14th: On streets of apartments, charities and minding the bees
Sir, – Given the size of the problem with housing in Ireland, current Government policy that focuses on apartment building as a solution is an unambitious goal that is stuck in the weeds. To solve the crisis, we need a bigger metric than just apartment units. In fact, the problem is so big, we should start thinking about building streets of apartments, shoulder to shoulder with each other that combine to form villages and then grow into towns and so on. Building streets might also go some way to resolving the idea that Irish people don't like apartments to the same extent as our continental neighbours. When we talk about the fine apartments in Europe, it's not only the apartments themselves that we like, it's the streets, the public spaces, fountains, squares, food outlets and kiosks that we like the most. READ MORE However, much of the apartment building in Ireland happens in suburbs where there is not much around, apart from other people's houses. That's not to say we shouldn't build apartments in the suburbs, but rather than constructing standalone apartment buildings that are gated off from the rest of the community, we should be aiming to create cohesive blocks of apartments with access to ground floor retail and public spaces at street level. Creating streets from new apartment buildings could help form urban villages that act as centre points for existing housing estates where there are none, and could lead to gentle urbanism in the suburbs. While the arguments for and against the new apartment standards rage on, perhaps we need to shift our thinking and stop dwelling on what's inside these apartments and focus on how these buildings can create quality third spaces for everyone to enjoy outside. In an age when housing policy seems stuck for ideas and buy-in from existing communities, giving more consideration to creating streets and third spaces around apartments is really thinking outside the box. – Yours, etc, CATHAL MELINN, Whitehall, Dublin 9. Sir, – Brianna Parkins' article (' Apartments with fewer windows sound okay, until you live in on e,' July 11th) on the Government's proposals to permit the construction of darker and more cramped housing units, sometimes called homes, highlights once more the genius of Official Ireland. That is, the ability to assess a bad situation, analyse the causes of its occurrence, and then go ahead and make it much worse. With so much talent in this country, how does Official Ireland continually show such lack of it? – Yours, etc, PAUL McLOUGHLIN, Rosslare Harbour, Co Wexford. Die by bullets, die by starvation Sir, – For more than six weeks, Palestinian families across Gaza have faced a brutal and often lethal Hobson's choice. They must decide whether to risk life and limb to retrieve aid, or whether to stay put and go hungry for another day. It's a case of whether to die by bullets or die by starvation. In front of the eyes of the world, the humanitarian system is being torn up in Gaza. Massacres at so-called Gaza Humanitarian Fund (GHF) sites are now a routine occurrence. Since the GHF began operating at the end of May, more than 700 people have been killed and nearly 5,000 injured while seeking aid. Hospitals, already stretched to breaking point after 21 months of conflict, are utterly overwhelmed by the numbers in need of treatment. The four GHF distribution sites replaced more than 400 aid locations run by the UN and NGOs across the Gaza strip. The GHF system forces desperate people to trek long distances through active conflict zones, often under a hail of bullets and bombs, and leaves them waiting in fenced areas to collect an aid package that will last only a few days. If the humanitarian system as we know it is to be resuscitated, we need aid delivery once again in the hands of principled humanitarian partners as well as all crossings into Gaza to be opened up so aid can be brought in on a scale that matches the needs of two million people suffering desperately without enough food, water or medical care. – Yours, etc, ROSAMOND BENNETT, Chief executive, Christian Aid Ireland, Dublin 2. The epaper and the good old days Sir, – It is only in the past week or two that I have realised that my subscription to The Irish Times digital services gives me access via the epaper to daily full-screen copies of the newspaper from one, two, five, 10, 25 and 50 years ago. Since then, I have been vicariously living in the past. And what have I learned from my reading? That there really is no such thing as 'the good old days', that's what. – Yours, etc, JOE McLAUGHLIN, Midlothian, Scotland. Charities and trade unions Sir, – It is deeply disappointing to see some charitable organisations adopting the language and practices of exploitative employers (' Disgusting: Leading Irish charities accused of hypocrisy for failing to work with unions ,' July 11th). The recent statement by the Capuchin Day Centre, claiming it 'places huge value on its employees' while refusing to engage with trade unions is a case in point. Saying they 'engage directly with employees' may sound reasonable, but in reality it echoes the old tactics used by employers to avoid collective bargaining and deny workers their right to organised representation. Trade unionists rightly condemn this approach. Charity should begin with fairness to your own staff. If an organisation depends on the goodwill of the public, it must also show goodwill to those who do the work. – Yours, etc, JOHN SUTTLE, Dollymount Ave, Dublin 3. Sir, – I can well understand Siptu's Brendan Carr's 'disgust' with large charitable organisations' reluctance to recognise trade unions. Back in the 1980s while I campaigned with others for disability rights, many large charitable organisations across the country were very resistant to notions of individual or collective rights for their service users. The notion that disabled people had a voice and rights like anyone else was something they did not welcome. They felt they were the best judge of what disabled people wanted and needed. I think part of the reason for this is that many of these organisations had their roots in charitable, philanthropic and Catholic traditions. Their attitudes reflected more of a paternalistic rather than an empowerment ethos. Their focus has largely been on service delivery particularly in areas such as disability and provision for older people. Nonetheless, they led the way in the provision of services while the State has been happy to sit back and allow this development to take place. While disability activists generally found individual unions and trades councils supportive, this was not the case with Ictu officials at the time. Furthermore, most unions did not understand the complex nature of voluntary organisations and the not-for-profit sector. Trade unions tended to be used for traditional models of negotiation based largely on the private and public sectors. In more recent times, trade unions have become more about individualism, and engagement with wider social issues has weakened. For instance, trade unions have largely turned their eyes away from issues such as older people's care and the privatisation of the sector. Such issues are still largely seen in caring and medical terms rather than as a trade union or civil rights issue. I would argue that much could be gained from The Wheel's [an umbrella body that represents many charities and NGOs] suggestion to explore with unions how there can be greater engagement between employers and staff. In particular, in relation to pay and conditions, but also in regard to the quality of the service that is delivered. Most importantly, the voices of service users whose wellbeing depends on responsible providers and caring staff must be included in this dialogue. – Yours, etc, MARTIN HOBAN, Co Cork. Bonfires and the Twelfth Sir, – The burning of a migrant boat effigy on a loyalist bonfire has shocked decent people north and south and I see that Amnesty International has added its voice to condemnation of the 'protest'. Though it was indeed an offensive and provocative incident, was it any worse than the nationwide displays of bigotry we've witnessed here over the past three years? Banners with hateful slogans like 'Get them out!' and Ireland for the Irish!' have appeared in towns across the land. Those who attend these protests appear offended when asked if they consider themselves to be racist. 'Oh God no, of course not', they plead, 'we're just concerned about services in the area, the number of GPs ... sure otherwise we'd be delighted to see them coming...' I suggest there needs to be an urgent emphasis on anti-racism courses in all primary and second-level schools. These courses should be comprehensive and professionally delivered. Judging by the degree of venom, ignorance and naked hostility evident at anti-immigrant marches and pickets, we've already lost a sizeable minority of the population to the politics of hate and division. Let us act now to reclaim our decency as a nation. From an early age, children could be taught that there's a world of difference between patriotism and racism; between fascism and traditional nationalism. They might be taught that there's no 'plantation' under way in Ireland akin to the ones undertaken by various English kings and queens and by Cromwell. No attempt to 'replace' us all with another set of people – that conspiracy theories beloved of internet keyboard warriors are madcap claims that have no more credence or provenance than has the most fanciful fairytale. A major anti-racism drive in the schools mightn't help present-day victims of that age-old insidious and destructive human vice, but it might ensure that we don't end up with another generation of bigots wrapping themselves in the tricolour as they seek to dehumanise people who've lost everything and whose only 'crime' is to look 'different'. – Yours, etc, JOHN FITZGERALD, Lower Coyne Street, Kilkenny. Sir, – Today (July 12th) many of our fellow countrymen and women will participate in marches organised by the Orange Order to celebrate their culture. Such displays are accepted generally, though there are some caveats associated with a minority of marches. Last night we witnessed the setting fire to some gigantic bonfires as an aspect of the same Orange culture. Again, a minority of these bonfires are constructed in contested locations or contain articles repugnant to sections of our society as depicted by the Moygashel village bonfire with its replica of a group of immigrants in a boat crossing the English Channel. The location of a bonfire close by electrical control units housing the supply of electricity to two major hospitals and nearby to an area containing asbestos is abhorrent. But, so too is the horror of many in our society by the PSNI refusal to assist contractors hired by Belfast City Council to remove this bonfire. Is the PSNI still a police force for one section of the community in Northern Ireland? Who really wishes for a United Ireland? – Yours, etc, PETER BUNTING, Drumcondra, Dublin 9. Sir, – Probably unlike many of a nationalist persuasion, I don't have an acute problem with the Twelfth celebrations and the accompanying bonfires, principally because they are more a representation of the past than the present. There is a genuine cultural dimension for the equal Protestant community as it is a celebration of King William's victory at the battle of the Boyne in 1690. While there will always be a sectarian element who seek to exploit differences, we should not stoke up the flames, but allow time to let the embers of any lingering hatred to die out naturally, as it will. At least respect cultural difference, even if we cannot embrace it. – Yours, etc, AIDAN RODDY, Cabinteely, Dublin 18. Be careful with the bees Sir, – Recently, while mowing a lawn, which contained a lot of white clover, I noticed a large number of bees on the clover. I assumed that they would fly off before being engulfed by the mower. However, on paying closer attention, it appeared that quite a number of them were unable to escape before being run over. I slowed down to a crawl, but still some did not make it in time. When meadows are being cut, a device called a flushing bar is attached to the mower. It creates a disturbance in advance of the implement to allow nesting birds to flush, to avoid injury or death. I wonder would it be possible to incorporate a similar device on both push and ride-on mowers, thus saving countless numbers of bees. – Yours, etc, RICHARD GELLETLIE, Blainroe, CoWicklow. Temple Bar and night life Sir, – I enjoyed Frank McDonald's article (' Why I moved out of Temple Bar after 25 years ', July 12th) but must quickly correct him to say that no late bar will be able to open until 6am under proposed legislation. The late bar is the dominant late night venue and its latest trading time of 2.30am will be unchanged. Only a small number of nightclubs may sell alcohol until 5am, with the potential – but largely unlikely option – of dancing to 6am. We expect tailored closing times in each district, shaped by local feedback. The free-for-all idea that some like to paint has no basis, and, as always, the judge's decision will be final. I welcome Frank's mention of an 'effective European-style noise control regime'. It should go hand in hand with the long-promised European-style licensing system. Given the edgy, ghost-town effect Temple Bar often suffers from, let's hope its few dance venues interested in later hours soon get that chance. At a time when Dublin needs something – anything – our increasingly well-managed night-time economy can unlock vital benefits for performers, workers, citizens and tourists alike. – Yours, etc, SUNIL SHARPE, Give Us The Night, Drimnagh, Dublin. Not in the mood Sir, – Ben McCabe (Letters, July 10th) notes that a regular contributor to The Irish Times Letters page has migrated to the Irish Independent on a particular day and wonders, jokingly, if the reason is climate change. Could it be that the regular contributor simply had their letter rejected by The Irish Times and offered it to the Indo instead who went ahead and published it? Speaking from experience, it does happen and thanks to the Indo for indulging my views when the Old Lady of Tara Street was not in the mood. – Yours, etc, BRIAN AHERN, Clonsilla, Dublin.
Irish Times
4 hours ago
- Irish Times
The greatest Frenchman of the 20th century and the Irish blood that flowed in his veins
On this Bastille Day let us cheer 'Vive la France'. All hail our nearest EU neighbour and good friend throughout history, in good times and bad. Our refuge for many Irish political 'sinners' and exiles such as James Joyce (for some of the time), Samuel Beckett (most of the time) and Oscar Wilde (a short time). Our ties are myriad but, more recently, were best represented by probably the greatest Frenchman of the 20th century – as seen in France – Charles de Gaulle. His Irish ancestry meant much to him, so that when he resigned as France's president in 1969 he took a six-week break here. READ MORE He explained: 'It was a kind of instinct which brought me to Ireland. Perhaps it was because of the Irish blood which flows in my veins – for we always come back to our origins – but also because it was Ireland.' De Gaulle was a descendent of the McCartans of Kinelarty, Co Down who, their lands confiscated by the Cromwellians, fled for France with other leading Irish families and after Patrick McCartan was hanged and beheaded at Carrickfergus, Co Antrim in 1653. Famously, de Gaulle was no fan of the English and twice vetoed Britain's (and Ireland's) attempts to join the then European Economic Community, later the EU. Churchill once said de Gaulle 'hates England and has left a trail of Anglophobia behind him everywhere'. De Gaulle was not the only French president to have had Irish ancestry. So too had Patrice de MacMahon, president of France from 1873 to 1879. He was descended from Mahon, son of Muirchertach Ua Briain, High King of Ireland and great-grandson of Brian Boru. They also lost lands – in Clare – during the Cromwellian confiscations, after which a branch of the family moved to Limerick. They supported the deposed King James who lost at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690 and the MacMahons subsequently headed for the safety of France too. There, they were very much a military family and, in recognition of his own military services, Patrice MacMahon was appointed Marshall of France and awarded the title of Duke of Magenta. In May 1873, he was elected President of France's Third Republic by the National Assembly, with just one vote cast against him. He died in 1893. France, from Latin ' Francia ' . inaword@
Irish Times
5 hours ago
- Irish Times
Courts Service launches first Irish language strategy
The first Irish language strategy for the Courts Service in Ireland has been published. The service said the aim of the strategy is to evolve it into a 'genuinely bilingual organisation'. Irish language strategy manager Dónal Ó Gallachóir said: 'The goal is that the public will experience an active bilingual offering without delay or difficulty. 'We also aim that staff use of the first national language is actively welcomed and encouraged.' The strategy contains 44 actions across six priorities and provides a vision for the development of the Irish language across the next three years in the organisation. It aims to develop a centralised Irish language office, improve quality and availability of an Irish language service and bring about parity between English and Irish in all service provision in the Courts Service. The service said it would work to actively recruit those with Irish language skills, alongside the development of a comprehensive tailored Irish language training programme. It also said it would develop a framework for providing Irish language service to the public online, in person and on the phone. – PA
