Help me! My child is failing her leaving cert - grind school?

[Laoisrocks]

I'm quite academic and presumed my kids would be self-taught like myself. This hasn't happened. My daughter is clever but is not trying at all in school. She's a happy kid but no interest in school. She's doing all ordinary level subjects, just started 6th year and has now been moved into Foundation level. She does have dyslexia but she has always been good at maths. She hasn't done her homework since 6th class and it has all caught up with her. I'd like to do something radicallike send her to a grind school. I think my stressful life over the last few years has allowed her to slip down. Could anyone please recommend ANY grind school that she could attend now? I'm prepared to move her from school - she hates it there anyway

Where do you live? Though a lot of the grind schools take the high achievers to keep their numbers looking good for college entry.

Honestly though if she is not motivated herself you could be wasting a lot of money. Perhaps foundation is right for her and she will find her way, albeit via a different path to you.

Ashfield college offer a remote option now.
ashfieldcollege.ie

My friend's son failed practically everything in 5th year, his 4th year as iirc he didn't do TY. She sent him to The Institute of Education in Dublin and he did the LC in one year and got 615 points.

Now he was a very bright young lad but didn't like his local school and lost interest but he was competitive by nature so applied himself when he moved school.

She has done no homework since 6th class???

Thank you everyone. I'm thinking of Yeats College in Galway or Waterford? Has any of you heard anything good or bad? The Institute of Education is full, I checked it today.

She cracked up during Covid and remote school @myflightiscancelled so I don't think that's a goer but thank you very much!

One of my sister's went to Yeats College in Galway and another worked there over 20 years ago. A friend's son went to the one in Waterford.

They concentrate on the important exam subjects.

Does she know what she wants to do after school? Does she know you are considering a grind school?

Yes she does know and is into it @PurpleDiva22

I think Limerick tutorial centre will be the easiest for us to get to

My daughter just repeated her leaving certificate in Limerick tutorial and got the very high point course she wanted. Would recommend it to get the points she wants. The students are expected to work very hard as you’d expect.

Thank you very much @DAKL and well done to your daughter!! As far as I can, Limerick Tutorial is the only viable option for us.

Ashfield also do in person by the way, they have just introduced the remote as an option. But is sounds like location wise it might not work. Best of luck!

Has her school discussed with you about her apparent lack of engagement, before moving her to foundation level? That seems quite extreme for a potential high achiever.

Does her school offer LCA? Is it an option?

Enoch Burke is at a loose end

I hear Enoch Burke is a great teacher!

I went to Tutorial (granted, quite a while ago) and got the results I needed. Tough but does the job

She hadn’t done any homework since 6th class?? How was that not picked up on before now? What was the general feedback from her parent/teacher meetings?

if she has dyslexia she should have an Irish and language exemption. If this is the case can she use those classes for studying and revision?

I would suggest that you contact her year head and find out what supports can be put in place.

You could consider one of the following

Let her do Leaving Cert this year in her current school, with a view to repeating at a Grind School.

More expensive. Send her to a Grind School now, but to 5th year repeat. The advantage of this is that she and you would have time to reset, get exemptions/help sorted re dyslexia. Some subjects are taught in two year cycles so she would have 2 years to study poetry/plays etc rather than cram them into a one year repeat. Schools which are full for 6th year might not actually be full for 5th year.

Grind schools often have "high" entry requirements, based on Junior Cycle or 5th Year results. They are looking for above average students. In DDs school, many students who excelled at JC opted to transfer to Grind School for 5th and 6th year, none of them did as well at LC as the highest achieving students who remained at the state school. However, they may have achieved their dream course.

Don't automatically knock the Foundation level option. It's possible to gain entry to Level 6/7 courses. What does your daughter want to do in the long term? If it's something that requires very high points, is she prepared to knuckle down and put in the hard graft required? But academia is not for everyone and Foundation offers a different approach.

Very few young people are "self-taught". This might well be possible for a reading subject like history but once it gets slightly technical like geography, physics, chemistry, maths you absolutely cannot do it yourself unless you are genius level. Throw dyslexia into the mix and you have to deal with a whole different ballpark. You've had your eye off the ball for a while now with the homework situation and you may need to adjust your own expectations. This is not a criticism, just acknowledging that LC year is not a great time to be expecting great changes and improvements. Perhaps arrange a meeting with the school guidance counsellor or splash out on a private session for some professional advice. Play to her strengths, establish where they lie first. How did TY work out for her, what did she enjoy best in relation to work experience, modules etc?

Tbh if she has no interest and is not motivated, I think putting her into a pressurised grind school with all the focus on achieving points could be a disaster for her mental health and self esteem. Why not focus on less academic options - apprenticeships or other routes?? There are so many alternative routes to careers these days that often what you do for your undergrad degree (or equivalent) bear no relation to the jobs people have. Does she have any particular interest or career in mind?

What are your daughter's interests and plans? Does she have any vague idea of what she'd like to do?( not a criticism, I'm still not sure 🤔) I worked at Tutorial College many years ago & iirc 'weaker' students were winnowed out. Can Career Guidance Counsellor see what might interest her? V best of luck

Thanks very much everyone. This is really helpful. We visited Limerick Tutorial today and we were well and truly winnowed out. We’re going to make an appointment with the school. She’sa happy kid. We’ve just allowed her academic life to slide off a cliff and want to put some effort into this year. We won’t break her. She’s as motivated as we are.

😂

actually Mammy B runs a grind school in Castlebar in the back shed by all accounts

Could anyone recommend an evening or Saturday grind school? (Castlebar is too far 😀)

I don't think he is available anymore 🔒🆙️

I've signed my DS up for online grinds from the Tuition Centre (think they're based in Cork, but we're Dublin so all online). They're running free taster classes this week, maybe have a look and see what you think?

But the only thing about online grinds is that they're for a small selection of subjects, so wouldn't cover the whole curriculum and also are for refreshing knowledge rather than teaching from the beginning.

Could / would she move school and restart 5th year?