Charlotte Ryan | Staff Writer
It is a sad reality that at one point during the Leaving Certificate the average student will consider repeating. Be it because their own school let them down, lack of personal motivation or a simple decline in self-confidence, as that climatic exam approaches we hear too often the defeated refrains of “I’m just going to repeat”. I first thought it when my hair started to fall out in fistfuls. Repeating wasn’t necessary for me but while I set up my contingency plan, the Institute of Education came to resemble a pipe dream to me. The annual fees of €6,950 didn’t matter to me, nor did the reputed high-pressure environment. I just wanted my dream course in my dream college. However, having come out on the other side in one (perfectly coiffed) piece, I now wonder whether my Leaving Cert experience would have been made easier or more difficult in such a stressful and competitive environment.
The Institute of Education was founded in 1969 by Raymond Kearns, an applied mathematics teacher who had studied in the United States and returned to Ireland armed with teaching methods that were at that time revolutionary in Ireland. His advocacy for private tuition for students led him to provide courses in new maths to both teachers and students, and ultimately brought about the establishment of the Institute on Leeson Street. Four decades later and it is one of the leading secondary schools in Ireland with the highest number of students entering third-level education each year. With their annual student population at approximately 5,000 — 250 in 5th year and 750 in 6th year and the remainder made up of Transition Year students and grinds pupils — the Institute caters to those aiming for high points in order to study medicine or veterinary, repeating students or those simply aware of their need for a more motivated environment.
“I wanted to go to an environment where everyone was new and there was no existing cliques already in the school”
Such was the case with Melissa Farrell, a 6th year student hoping to study communications who entered the Institute in 5th year in anticipation of the highly stressful two years ahead of her, and the work that would be required. “Me and my parents decided I would do better in the Institute because of the great teachers and focus on the Leaving Cert,” she says. “I knew I would have a better chance of doing well in the Leaving Cert than my old school because it wasn’t very good.” Leaving a school, friends and support network during such a trying time seems a high price to pay for what is so often condescendingly called a piece of paper, particularly if that move bridges counties. However, for many this factor is an immense positive, levelling the playfield and granting students a blank slate with which to start again.
“I never exactly felt like I fit into my old school and couldn’t relate to the people or the teachers in it,” says Christine Slattery, a 6th year student hoping to study Computer Science. “I wanted to go to an environment where everyone was new and there was no existing cliques already in the school”. This sense of equality is admittedly surprising for what is perceived as an upper middle-class establishment. The students interviewed said that the cosmopolitan and eclectic assortment of people completely eradicates bullying since, as Matthew Phelan says, “everyone went in one day on as equals.” He elaborates that “the Institute is a haven for the bullied, the quirky, the nerds, but it does nothing to shield you from the massive pressure that you need to succeed.” For example, there are currently more students aspiring to study medicine in the Institute than there are available medicine seats in the country. Yet there is no competitiveness apparent in the school, no conniving or sabotaging. This isn’t Mean Girls. If anything, the highly pressurised atmosphere fosters an even greater sense of unity and solidarity.
Above even its reputation for excellent grades is the Institute’s notoriously strict class regime, yet for those of us outside those Leeson Street buildings very little is known regarding the class structures. For most students classes begin at 8.30 and continue constantly until 3.30, with the majority remaining after class to work in one of two study halls. Despite the rigid structure Slattery maintains that it’s “perfect for a Leaving Cert year as it puts a perfect amount of pressure and motivation on you.” I’m inclined to agree. One of the most challenging aspects of the Leaving Cert is the risk of procrastination. Of course there are the infamous Institute notes, hand-outs that are revised to exam-perfect precision by the teachers and forbidden to be reproduced. One student who would prefer to remain anonymous I spoke to recounted how geography essays were revised for via these hand-outs, complete with specific bullet-points to be made to ensure an A1. English essays that received A1s were taken to be locked in a vault in the library, accessible only with permission from the office. I had asked some students about whether or not English teachers were advising them to study only two poets out of the listed eight, having heard numerous past students recall it. However, all interviewees stated these were predictions rather than insider tips.
This strident revision system is complimented by teachers who are rarely absent and, as Farrell notes, a policy that “if you didn’t want to work, it was your problem”.
This strident revision system is complimented by teachers who are rarely absent and, as Farrell notes, a policy that “if you didn’t want to work, it was your problem”. However, in contrast is the much more flexible and progressive form of classes and student-pupil relationships. Students wear their own clothes, yet another factor possibly borrowed by Kearns from the United States, and call the teachers by their first names. The most notable difference in the Institute is the flexible timetables in which students choose which subjects they want to study and during which time slots. In this manner, students can dictate when they start and finish their days. This system blurs the lines that exist in other secondary schools and enhances unity among students. As Phelan says, “I personally forgot that most people around me were a year or two younger. I know a 16 year old fashionista with a briefcase and a successful fashion blog. When I was 16 I hadn’t even reached the level cap in World of Warcraft.”
That fashionista is Amelia O’Mahony Bradi, a 5th year student and owner of the blog La Femme Eclectique. Despite having one year to go until the exams, Bradi understands the enormous stress placed upon her shoulders and maintains that it’s necessary to “take a step back and remind myself that it’s just one class test or homework essay.” Being in 5th year, Bradi still finds the time to unwind with exercise, friends or blogging yet the same can’t be said for those in 6th year. “I have heard some stories about sixth-years having breakdowns, crying in class but I feel like if I’m aware of it I can try to combat it.”
when you hear of students buying Adderall from classmates with ADHD in order to better study for exams, the line between what is real and what seems borrowed from an American teen show is blurred.
Unfortunately breakdowns and crying fits in class are mainstays of many students’ experiences with the Leaving Cert. Most of us have crumbled at some point amid the pressures, expectations and personal disappointment when we don’t meet those expectations. Usually a good vent to your friends or a comforting hug from a family member would ease the panic, maybe a night of slightly more excessive drinking than usual with your friends if it was particularly bad. We accept that sometimes desperate times call for desperate measures, however when you hear of students buying Adderall from classmates with ADHD, or even finding the adderall price online and buying it on the street in order to better study for exams, the line between what is real and what seems borrowed from an American teen show is blurred. Perhaps this isn’t specific to the Institute but it should serve as a reminder that such measures are in no way justified when attributed to the pressures of an exam.
Exacerbating this is the lack of any other outlet within the school. It would be assumed that a school that specialises in Leaving Cert preparation would have a particular lack of emphasis on extra-curricular activities however, it’s an accepted fact that during such a trying year an outlet would be necessary. As Phelan states “other schools have extra-curricular activities and charity work and other ways students can distinguish themselves”. Perhaps if the Institute established something like this, the pressure would be alleviated.
So why study there? Why put yourself under extreme pressure, heightened expectations and personal and emotional turmoil for an exam you could easily prep for in another school? Is it just the reputation or is there something more? I believe it’s as simple as knowing that you’re all in the same boat together. As Phelan states, “The Institute is focused on exams, it lays the system bare. It doesn’t try to baby you and everyone is united by their motivation to succeed academically.”
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Illustrations by Laura Finnegan for The University Times
