Child assessment. The institute of Education

Hello,

I would like my son to attend the Institute of Education next year when he is 14 having spent several years abroad.

Can anyone tell me if the entry assessment requirements is extraordinarily difficult, as my son excels an maths and lacks interest in English and gets by.

Has anyone any information that may help and are you happy with your childs development whilst attending.

Thankyou so much for your time and consideration.

homecoming said:

I would like my son to attend the Institute of Education next year when he is 14 having spent several years abroad.

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14 ? AFAIK they only offer tuition post Junior Cert.

I was only 14 when I sat my Inter Cert (as it was called then). I'd returned from living abroad a year earlier and found it a walk in the park, academically speaking (even Irish, which I'd missed seven years of and yet managed a B! )

Just be aware that the Institute is essentially a very reputable grind school which sells itself on its ability to push high-achieving students into the very-high-achieving bracket (the ones who 'only' got 550 LC points first time around and need 590 for Medicine or Dentistry, etc.). I'm not knocking them, but that's what they offer.

If your family is returning to Ireland after many years abroad, the transition may be a difficult one for your son and a more 'normal' secondary school might provide a more rounded experience — from a social/personal/cultural/sporting perspective.

I hasten to add that I'm not trying to put you off, if you've already settled on the IoE for some reason.

I'm happy for him to spend the time getting the maximum amount of points for whatever he plans to do. We have been back and forward for the last 4 years and the fact is that we will be living just down the road from the college. My concern was that he may not get in on account as i understand it, it's the place for medicine and dentistry and this is not his interest. I would be happy for him to go there since I feel it is the best I can offer him. I know there are other good schools but location here is an added advantage.

May I ask you Dr Moriarty, did your parents apply for you to go before you were 14 and you were accepted on academic ability?

If my son is not interested in medicine will he still be afforded a good education?

Thank you Dr Moriarty,

Kind regards.

Homecoming.
The institute only provides full time schooling for 4th, 5th and 6th year students so you wouldnt be able to send a 14 year old there. They also provide shorter revision courses for younger students who attend in addition to their normal secondary school.
I suggest that you check out their website to see what I mean and also www.schooldays.ie for a list of
secondary schools in South Dublin.

homecoming said:

.. as i understand it, it's the place for medicine and dentistry

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The Institute of Education is commonly regarded as a place to maximise your points haul from the Leaving Certificate. Whether that is medicine, or architecture, or pharmacy .. it's not specific. They focus on the exam and likely topics and exam technique.

Suffice is to say there's a lot more to a secondary education, specifically the extra curricular activities such as sport, drama, music, debating. None of those are provided in the IoE.

I suggest you look at other schools for your son, specifically on the socialisation of a teenage boy settling in a new place. If you want him to transfer to the IoE for the Leaving Certificate, that's a decision for later.

homecoming said:

May I ask you Dr Moriarty, did your parents apply for you to go before you were 14 and you were accepted on academic ability?

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Yes, I'd been enrolled in the "feeder" primary school seven years earlier so had a kind of right of way, I suppose. The pressure for places probably wasn't as great then, and we lived nearby, too.

Also, the fact that I was young for my class was something of an accident — where we lived abroad, the school year ran from January to December, so I kind of skipped a half a year on the way out, and again on the way back, and ended up in the year ahead of my classmates from seven years previously. They looked at my records from the schools attended abroad and gave me a (fairly perfunctory) ability test and on that basis decided there was no point in putting me "back" a year.

That was all a long time ago. Perhaps more relevant is the experience of friends of ours living in Indonesia who decided to send their eldest girl (16) to board in an expensive private girls' school in South Dublin (with a view to third-level prospects, I guess, since they don't see themselves returning to live in Ireland anytime soon). The poor kid was utterly miserable and, despite being great at sports and having no real difficulty on the academic side, refused to return and is now back in an international school in Indonesia.

Point being that there's a lot more to the choice of school than simply academic reputation/Sunday Times "league table" results. The secondary school I attended in Dublin was/is considered one of the "better" ones, and I can assure you that I came across some dreadfully incompetent teachers there (mostly old priests). I didn't play rugby, absolutely hated the place, and whatever success I had at the Leaving Cert and subsequently had very little to do with the quality of the education I got there.

TarfHead said:

I suggest you look at other schools for your son, specifically on the socialisation of a teenage boy settling in a new place. If you want him to transfer to the IoE for the Leaving Certificate, that's a decision for later.

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This, in a nutshell. If you find he's set his heart on a high-points degree course and are worried that he won't get the necessary results, then by all means transfer him in sixth year (or simply get him some good grinds). In the meantime I'd be more concerned to find a school where he feels comfortable, fits in, and enjoys what are meant to be the "best years of his life".

Thankyu Dr Moriarty, Tarfhead and Emiso for your comments. I will certainly take them on board and I have a broader view to my son's education now. We will find him a 'good' school for al the right reasons and if I'm honest, hope for the best, that he will enjoy what is on offer. My apologies for the delay in replying, we are in one of those areas in the Middle East where internet access is banned, so having found myself in another area and in a hotel, it gives me the chance to catch up and thank you all. Kind regards for all the support.

TarfHead said:

The Institute of Education is commonly regarded as a place to maximise your points haul from the Leaving Certificate. Whether that is medicine, or architecture, or pharmacy .. it's not specific. They focus on the exam and likely topics and exam technique.

Suffice is to say there's a lot more to a secondary education, specifically the extra curricular activities such as sport, drama, music, debating. None of those are provided in the IoE.

I suggest you look at other schools for your son, specifically on the socialisation of a teenage boy settling in a new place. If you want him to transfer to the IoE for the Leaving Certificate, that's a decision for later.

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My thoughts exactly.
Also, as your son will be integrating into the Irish cirriculum, from a different system, there are likely to be some subjects that he is ahead of the cirriculum and some where he is behind, because the emphasis is different. For example, the history and geography syllabus might be very different and the leaving cert cycle will assume that you have been studying the syllabus for Junior cert. Your son would be better off in a school who will help him with this transition. He might suffer academically and emotionally in a grind school environment.

Yes Huskerdu, noted, I can see he will benefit from being in the school environment. This is where my next concerns arise really but we have another year to contemplate where to send him. Our lad was in school for five years at home and overall had a miserable time. He was clever, he didn't fit in, he was from Dublin, that didn't fit in with some, His accent was different, your not from around here, all the usual stuff and a head who refused to act and sought to maintain his own reputation at all costs. I suppose thats's for another thread though another time and I do thankyou for your input. I certainly take it on board. Thanks

homecoming said:

Yes Huskerdu, noted, I can see he will benefit from being in the school environment. This is where my next concerns arise really but we have another year to contemplate where to send him. Our lad was in school for five years at home and overall had a miserable time. He was clever, he didn't fit in, he was from Dublin, that didn't fit in with some, His accent was different, your not from around here, all the usual stuff and a head who refused to act and sought to maintain his own reputation at all costs. I suppose thats's for another thread though another time and I do thankyou for your input. I certainly take it on board. Thanks

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I understand your concern about finding a school that your child will be happy in.

Do not leave this to the last minute. There are a lot of good schools in Dublin but all good schools in Dublin are over-subscribed. It may not be possible to get a place in your school of choice. Its sometimes random whether places are available in the year you want. You should start the groundwork now, of finding out about potential schools and contacting them about places for next year.

Yes thanks Huskerdu, I'll crack on!