Q My son is aged 11 and is in sixth class in national school. He is a mature and I would like him to postpone entry into secondary school for a year. But I am told you cannot repeat sixth class. Have you any suggestions? Co Limerick parent.

A Strictly speaking students are not supposed to be allowed to repeat any year in national school. The idea is that people get eight years in primary school and that repeating years is, on the whole, not beneficial to children there is also the worry that if it were allowed, we'd have loads of pushy parents wanting their little darlings to repeat and the school system would get clogged up there is provision to allow a year to be repeated where the school can certify that there are good educational reasons for this. So, if there is a pupil who has learning difficulties or is expert fencing problems and the school feels that he would benefit from repeating, then there is provision for this.

But repeating sixth class as a maturing process probably would not come under this heading. In practice, it depends on the individual school. If they have space and want to take your child, they probably could do so but often they don't have the space.

I think the idea of postponing entry to secondary school for a year is a good one, but I would ask you first to consider if your child himself wants to repeat sixth class. Will be lose his friends who have advanced on into secondary school? Will he feel a bit humiliated being back repeating sixth class with kids who were his juniors last year? You need to take these issues into account also. It may be that it would be better to approach a different primary school and ask them if they can accommodate him.

Have you considered An Rinn, the all Irish school in the Co Waterford Gaelthacht? They operate a sixth class for boarders and I get a very positive reaction from many parents to this year. The general reaction is that is a very maturing year and that young people really enjoy it. I don't know if you feel that your son would be up to boarding yet?

It seems to me that there is a void in the market here for a sort of bridging year between primary and secondary school. I find that quite a few parents consider such a prospect but find it impossible to identify a suitable course or programme.

Q I am applying for a course through the CAO. I have already done a degree many years ago and now discover that because of this I cannot avail if the free fees scheme. Surely this is wrong? Dublin mature student

A It does appear very unfair at first glance but there is solid reasoning behind it. Basically, the position of the Minister for Education is that the available resources should be used to ensure that the maximum possible number of students get fee higher education. To be fair to everyone this means that people get one go in the system at State expense. If people want to have another go and do second degree, they are perfectly welcome to do so, but they should not expect the State to fund them totally, is the argument.

There is a logic to this. The free fees scheme is designed to help people to get into higher education, not to maintain them there for long periods. For example, it doesn't not apply to post graduate courses.

It is an extension of the same thinking which dictates that if a student repeats a year, then she or he has to pay the fees for the second time around. Thus, if you fail first year, you are welcome to repeat, but you must pay full fees for the repeat year and then the State will start paying your fees again from second year onwards.

As far as the Minister is concerned you have already had your `go' and are not entitled to have fees paid for a second undergraduate degree. I know that your argument is that there was no `free fees' when you went to college originally and you paid your own fees. But the official argument is that fees represented only a small part of the real cost to the State of providing you with a degree place, hence no fees will be paid for you now.

Having explained the rationale behind this, I would also have to say that it is a very negative approach in that it actively prevents people from retraining, changing courses or acquiring new qualifications in areas where there are skills shortages, for example in computing

I can understand why if someone fails a year he or she might be denied the fees for the repeat year. But the scheme as it stands is a disincentive to students to change discipline and acknowledge that their first choice may have been wrong. Similarly, it prevents people like yourself d'from acquiring updated qualifications. But I'm afraid I do not foresee any change, either.

Q I am repeating A Levels and have been offered a place by Portobello University in Dublin where I was told that their degrees were more widely recognised than similar degrees from TCD or UCD. I am confused should I give up the repeats and accept this offer? Belfast student.

A There is no such place as Portobello University in Dublin. You are perhaps confusing it with Portobello College which is a private, commercial college providing third level courses, some to degree level.

Portobello is a relatively new college, whereas Trinity and UCD are long established very long in the case of Trinity universities with high reputations both at home and abroad. There is really no comparison between the universities and Portobello.

And apart from UCD and Trinity, there is Dublin City University, the various colleges of the DIT (Dublin Institute of Technology) and Tallaght RTC to be taken into account in the Dublin area, all with excellent reputations.

My advice would be to stick at your repeat A Levels. You may do well enough to get a place in Queens or UU to which you tell me you have also applied.

And, if you are thinking of coming to Dublin, I think you'd be well advised to look at the wide range of Dublin colleges on the CAO application system and not to restrict yourself to Portobello, which may indeed serve your needs but you will want to have the widest and best possible range of choices available to you.

Q My daughter is preparing for her mock Leaving in a few weeks and I am worried at the amount of time she is spending on this. Surely she should still be learning new material and working on her Leaving Cert course rather than wasting time this early on an exam like this Dublin mother.

A There are conflicting views on the `mocks' and I think it would be true to say that many teachers have come to regret the extent to which they now dominate the exam year in schools.

I have heard parents complain that students work themselves up to a peak for the mocks and find it difficult to repeat the exercise again for the real thing.

At the same time, it does make sense that a "dry run" at the exam is important, as it mimics the conditions of the real thing and means that students are not going in blind.

I suppose you can take consolation from the fact that the revision she is doing now will hold good for the Leaving itself and anything which concentrates her mind on study is good. If you look at the mocks as later than usual Christmas tests I presume she did not do Christmas exams as well it can help place them more in context.