To make sense of the feeder tables, it is very important perceive the part elements. There are two key numbers related to every college listed: the overall variety of college students attending school this 12 months and the overall variety of incoming first- 12 months undergraduate college students who sat the Leaving Cert in 2021.
It is usually imporant to notice that the proportion development charges of Eire’s second-level colleges don’t solely mirror the success of this 12 months’s Leaving Cert class in securing school locations via the CAO.
The share listed within the final column shouldn’t be a “true charge” for the development of the Leaving Cert 2021 class from every college to school this 12 months because it incorporates numerous totally different components.
So, who’re the 49,000 college students who make up the incoming first-year class of 2021? Of the candidates who secured a CAO place in 2021, 4,825 secured their place in Spherical 0 in July, predominantly these had been candidates over 23 years of age.
An additional 3,533 candidates secured their place in Spherical A in early August, they had been predominantly graduates of FE degree 5/6 awards. An additional 40,607 candidates made up of the Leaving Cert class of 2021 plus over 12,000 others from the lessons of the final 4/5 years obtained and accepted provides in Spherical 1 in early September this 12 months.
Additionally included in that Spherical 1 supply group are candidates from Northern Eire, the UK, different EU nations and worldwide candidates from all through the world.
Within the numbers offered to The Irish Instances, every third degree establishment consists of all incoming first 12 months college students who attended a given college, although as much as 25 per cent of incoming first years might have sat the Leaving Cert as much as 20 years beforehand.
Every of those college students, excluding those that didn’t sit the Leaving Cert in Eire, is included within the whole variety of college students credited by faculties to every college. We publish this quantity as a result of it’s all that CAO faculties are allowed to supply. They’re precluded from stating what number of college students from the category of 2021 secured a spot this 12 months.
Of the 49,000 college students from the Republic of Eire who began school in September 2021, we estimate that 75 per cent accomplished their Leaving Cert in June 2021.
Class of 2021 who progressed via the CAO The full variety of college students sitting the Leaving Cert who utilized for a spot via the CAO in 2021 was 48,104.
The State Exams Fee (SEC) figures on the variety of college students who sat the Leaving Cert in all colleges in 2021 (the SITS) present that 57,952 undertook the standard Leaving Cert with 3,173 choosing the Leaving Cert Utilized (LCA).
The SEC offers The Irish Instances with this information which permits the publication of the SITS quantity subsequent to every college’s identify. Combining this information from the CAO and SEC exhibits that 79 per cent of sixth-year college students in Irish second-level colleges sought a spot among the many 40-plus establishments it represents.
The remaining 21 per cent of this 12 months’s Leaving Cert class determined – in session with their lecturers, steerage counsellors and, most significantly, their dad and mom – that making use of to the CAO was not the suitable or finest profession growth transfer for them.
As entry to correct information for software numbers to the CAO from the person colleges themselves shouldn’t be attainable, The Irish Instances consists of this cohort within the SIT numbers, upon which the success share of every college is predicated.
It’s value noting that the very fact 21 per cent of school-leavers don’t apply for a CAO school place shouldn’t be a sign of failure. They could be planning to pursue an additional training course, via an ETB school, which is extra applicable to their profession objectives.
Yearly, 1000’s of Leaving Cert college students take these degree 5 QQI programs in post-Leaving Cert faculties. Many full them and progress to CAO programs the next 12 months (and are credited again to their unique college within the information equipped by the universities after they register).
Learning overseas One other cohort from that 21 per cent who don’t apply for a CAO place could also be going exterior Eire to proceed their research. They could even have utilized to high schools in Northern Eire or to high schools within the UK.
Up to now 10 years, a rising variety of Irish college students have opted to check in continental EU universities with excessive worldwide rankings, which provide programs via English.
There are greater than 1,000 undergraduate Irish college students now learning at first 12 months undergraduate degree in Dutch universities alone. Many extra attend faculties in different EU nations. Once more, these college students should not credited to their colleges for development to 3rd degree standing in The Irish Instances charts as we do not need any information on such college students.
Components influencing school selection Every year, the tables present very massive numbers of scholars who go to school attend colleges in socially advantaged communities. The information exhibits these college students are inclined to choose predominantly for universities and teacher-training programs.
Larger Training Authority (HEA) information exhibits these establishments have the bottom drop-out charges (from 4 per cent in teacher-training faculties to 9 per cent in universities). Is that shocking, given the assist these college students obtain from their dad and mom?
The HEA information additionally exhibits college students from colleges in less-advantaged communities get far fewer locations in high-points college programs and have a tendency to progress to institutes of know-how or technological universities.
HEA information exhibits these college students have extra difficulties finishing school, with drop-out charges of as much as 20 per cent widespread.
Scholar Common Help Eire (Susi) figures present a big proportion of profitable grant candidates go to ITs somewhat than universities, confirming the social- class divide mirrored in establishments’ scholar consumption.
The development tables additionally present how parochial our school selection is, and the way the presence of a 3rd degree school in an space will increase the development charges of scholars from second degree to 3rd degree inside commuting distance of these faculties.
In contrast to within the UK, the place college students have a tendency to pick faculties removed from residence, Irish college students gravitate in direction of native faculties if they’ll get a spot within the self-discipline they need. This will mirror the dearth of a student-loan scheme which might permit consideration of a wider vary of choices and might also mirror the acute ongoing scarcity of scholar lodging, with current experiences indicating that as much as 10 per cent of scholars are couch-surfing or, in some circumstances, sleeping in vehicles.
Publishing this information shouldn’t be passing judgment on the success of any college in supporting their college students to get to school. For colleges the place each dad and mom of many college students are graduates, and the place they’ve been supported all through their training, getting a school place is not any nice reflection on the success of their college.
Alternatively, we’re keenly conscious that for colleges in deprived communities, securing third degree development for even a small proportion of scholars displays extremely motivated lecturers, and is a implausible achievement.
McManus scholarship programme Some of the fascinating items of information relating to colleges’ success in supporting college students from financially deprived backgrounds all through the whole island of Eire will be seen within the JP McManus scholarship awards.
The awards, established in 2008 and price €6,700 a 12 months to every scholar, are given yearly to a few of Eire’s finest performing college students at some point of their undergraduate levels, and supply a lifeline to present sixth 12 months college students who concern their households won’t ever have the ability to afford the exorbitant prices now related to attending third degree.
There is no such thing as a software course of, however qualifying college students should attend a non-fee paying college, be exempt from paying the Leaving Certificates payment and should even be sitting the Leaving Certificates for the primary time.
A complete of 125 All Eire Scholarships from the 32 counties are awarded yearly. Over the previous 13 years greater than 1,000 profitable graduates have already certified with main and postgraduate levels beneath the scheme.
Why does The Irish Instances publish these charts given the caveats? The Irish Instances publishes these development charts yearly as a result of they’re based mostly on information offered by the State Examinations Fee – whole variety of SITs per college, and the third-level CAO faculties – whole variety of former pupils of every college attending first 12 months in 2021. Even when the data equipped to us might be extra complete, these charts are the one indicator of a faculty’s educational efficiency accessible to the general public. Third degree faculties level out that this college’s information originates on the State Examinations Fee. It’s forwarded to the Central Functions Workplace, which forwards it to 3rd degree establishments. As the info is offered to every college for specific administrative functions, they are saying they can’t stand over the accuracy of the info whether it is used for another function.
The information offered consists of each college setting wherein a candidate sat the examination, even when for just one topic.
Subsequently, the info is not going to all the time mirror the variety of incoming college students to a 3rd degree school, as a result of in circumstances the place, for instance, a candidate sat the examination twice, that candidate will seem as a statistic beneath each establishments and be doubly entered within the information. The double counting happens even the place the candidate repeated the examination within the establishment the place she or he first undertook the examination.