Talk Back

The feeder schools lists represent a rare triumph for parents, writes SEáN FLYNNEducation Editor

When The Irish Timespublished the latest Feeder Schools survey last week, the e-mail traffic piled up all day and the phones rang constantly. It was mostly parents demanding more information about schools.

They should be ashamed of themselves.

That, at least, is the view of what they used to call “Official Ireland”. The teacher unions, the Minister for Education, most of the opposition parties and, heck, even the National Parents Council (Post-Primary) oppose league tables.

There is also no shortage of polite academics around the place who, in consort with the teacher unions, will roll out that familiar refrain: league tables are evil and dangerous.

The implication? Any parent who wants this kind of stuff is superficial and materialistic. They should get a grip, focus on a “holistic” education and strive for a more “rounded” view of schools.

This demonisation of parents who want information on school exam performance is disgraceful. Selecting a second-level school for your son and daughter is one of the most important choices any parent will make. This school will leave an indelible mark in all sorts of social and cultural ways on your son and daughter. It will shape their future life.

Most sensible parents will want to know a great deal about any prospective school for their kids. They will want to known about music and sport and drama and the general ethos.

But they also want some reassurance their son and daughter will achieve his/her academic potential, whatever that might be.

So what is officially available?

There are the school inspections reports from the Department of Education. But, astonishingly, these make no reference to exam performance. And they tell you virtually nothing of practical use about the quality of teaching in a school.

After that, a prospective parent could – if they were brave or foolhardy – ask the school principal for the school’s Leaving Cert results. I have been that parent and I can tell you it is not a pleasant experience.

There was plenty of old guff about "holistic and rounded" education – but the message was clear. The results in myschool are none of your business.

The feeder school list published last week is an effort to fill that information vacuum. The lists are by no means perfect. They don’t give a fully rounded picture of school performance. They don’t take any account of the socio-economic background of pupils. They can stigmatise poorly performing schools, located in working-class estates.

But half a loaf is better than no bread. The lists give some information that is of practical use to parents.

And, by now, parents know how to read these lists. They know all schools are not equal. They know that fee-paying schools in the leafy suburbs have built-in advantages. They know some schools are performing minor miracles by sending even one-quarter of their students on to college.

The challenge of lifting standards in these schools is one for policymakers. The feeder school lists expose the gravity of the problem and the two-tier nature of our education system. Would it be better if this information was suppressed?

For all their flaws, the lists are worth defending in an education system controlled by the Department and the teacher unions.

As for the National Parents Council (Post-Primary), who are supposed to be represent you and me, don’ t get me started.