Pupils prepared for entrance exams despite ban

A Cork primary school principal has said teachers are still having to prepare students for entrance exams in the city, despite them being banned almost 30 years ago.

Speaking on a motion on the workload of primary principals, principal of Beaumont Girls NS in Cork City, Margaret McCarthy, said teachers were under huge strain trying to prepare students for entrance exams despite them having been banned by the Department of Education (DES) in 1985.

“The DES expects her to implement a fully child-centred curriculum, with its 11 subjects. She must also prepare the children for Confirmation. Because she teaches in Cork City, she has the added stress of preparing her class for the entrance exams which are being imposed on her by the secondary schools in the area,” she said.