Pupils have now lost four school days and one of the first public displays of parental anger over this came at a secondary school in Foxrock, Dublin, yesterday. Stirred by the reluctance of teachers or the Government to compromise, a group of frustrated parents staged an unusual protest at the fee-paying Loreto Secondary School, which caters for about 520 girls.
Ms Rosemary O'Connell, their spokeswoman, said she was so incensed by the standoff between the Association of Secondary Teachers, Ireland (ASTI) and the Government that she spent most of Wednesday on the phone to fellow parents, asking them to drop their children to school yesterday, even though classes were likely to be cancelled.
"Our children are being used as pawns," she said. Her daughter is studying for the Leaving Certificate while her son is taking the Junior Certificate at another southside school. She pointed out that mock exams were less than 10 weeks away.
Loreto Foxrock principal Sister Brede Quirke said the school managers' association had advised her that classes could not be offered because ASTI members had withdrawn from supervision, meaning the health and safety of pupils could not be guaranteed.
By about 9 a.m. up to 40 girls, most of them Leaving Certificate students, assembled with a smaller group of parents. The parents refused to blame teachers for their children's plight. "We have nothing against the teachers, we are here to highlight our utter frustration as parents with the dispute and the fact that nothing seems to be happening," said Ms O'Connell.
She read out a letter, surrounded by the girls who were buoyed up by the media attention. "How long can our children be expected to motivate themselves while studying alone in their rooms?" she asked.
The girls displayed admirable obedience in front of the media by marching in an orderly line into the school and handing letters to Sister Quirke. They then signed the school's roll book and attempted to begin their day. It looked as if classes might go ahead.
Some of the girls then came out looking worried and accusingly said to their mothers, "you promised there would be no classes". However, within a few minutes they all reappeared. Ms O'Connell said the protest was a success if it prompted other parents to vent their frustration over the strike. Meanwhile, the girls trailed home.