Athlone principals in favour of changes to Junior Cert exam

In the aftermath of this year's Junior Cert results, which were issued last week, principals of Athlone secondary schools have said they are in favour of changes to certain aspects of the State exam. The National Council for Curriculum and Assessment is currently preparing a report on how the Junior Cert might be reformed, and Education Minister Batt O'Keefe has said this review should be complete by the end of the year. Marist College principal Tom Blaine felt that reducing costs would be the main aim of any Junior Cert reforms introduced by the Department of Education. "I feel that, particularly in the last eighteen months, cost has been the main factor influencing the decisions taken by the Department," he said. "I would be concerned that soon there will be nobody left in the Department who has any interest in educational matters." The results at the Marist College were "excellent" this year but Mr Blaine said that, once the results have been received, he encourages students to turn their minds to the more serious matter of the Leaving Cert. Liam Nally, principal of St Joseph's College in Summerhill, said that its students performed very well in the Junior Cert this year. However, he said that reviewing the structures of both State exams would be "a good idea." "There is still a huge problem with students dropping out of third level colleges and that's an indication that the present system is not preparing students for third level. Not by a long shot," said Mr Nally. "Sitting the Junior Cert and Leaving Cert exams can be extremely nerve-wracking and I think in their present guise neither exam gives an accurate assessment of a student's ability." Reducing the number of exam subjects taken at Junior Cert level would be beneficial, according to the principal of Our Lady's Bower, Sr Denise O'Brien. "Eleven exam subjects at the junior level is a very big number and if that was reduced it could open up the means and methods of learning for students by allowing more project work and assessment work," said Sr Denise. "It would take the focus off the intensive two-week exam period because I know Junior Cert students are always exhausted at the end of the exams. "I think students should be allowed to explore areas of interest in greater detail and this would help the schools to accommodate a broader range of students. For some students, school is not a pleasant place to be because they are corralled into a timetable which is very, very structured. That's why I think Transition Year and the Applied Leaving Cert are wonderful. If we could open up the Junior Cert in a similar way it would be beneficial. We would be directing the methods of learning and giving students more learning skills than facts and figures." The Bower's Junior Cert class of 2009 was "exceptional" according to the school principal, who said that "there were several outstanding students who received a full quota, or almost a full quota, of As." At St Aloysius College, principal Gerry Kinneavy noted that there will be more emphasis placed on oral ability in next year's Junior Cert Irish exam and he believed this was a welcome change. "I think there has been too much focus placed on the written paper. Irish is supposed to be a living language and, to that end, it should be spoken," said Mr Kinneavy. The St Aloysius principal was very happy with this year's Junior Cert results, stating that the grades in honours maths were especially impressive. "There has been a lot of talk in the past about maths and students not doing well in the subject so the results this year were very gratifying for me and everyone else at the school." Meanwhile, at Moate Community School, deputy principal Maura Murray said that the 125 students who received their Junior Cert results at the school last week were extremely happy with their grades. "All of the students seemed to achieve their own personal goals, and in many cases these targets were surpassed. This is a milestone for the students and there was a huge sense of achievement when they received their results," said Ms Murray.