A Chara,

At the recent AGM of the Parents Council of St Finian's Community College the subject of the weight of school books was raised. I was asked to write to the Irish publishers to urge them to investiage the possibility of reducing the size and weight of school books for second level students.

It was pointed out that many of the subjects - science, business studies, history, geography, maths and so on - in the Junior Certificate course are at present covered by just one book for the three years. These books can weigh up to one kilo each and on average at least two or three of them would be used at school each day. The constant carrying of such weights on the backs of shoulders cannot be healthy for our young people.

Might it not be possible to divide the curriculum to allow for one smaller book each year without adding too much to the already high cost of school books? We were told with the introduction of the new curriculum that by increasing the size of the books to cover the complete Junior Certificate cycle the cost could be reduced, but this does not appear to have happened with enough significance to justify the possibility of long term back problems for our children.

Yours,

Honary Secretary, Swords Parents Council, St Finian's Community College, Co Dublin.