This was an interesting read. I’m very pro TY. The only thing I’d disagree with from the article was where it said teachers are held in much higher regard here than in the UK. That…is unfortunately not the case.
cavedave on
It seems to me that college is far too selective. If there was two streams for college a year of arts or a year of science you could go to and then further specialise would it be better?
As in if the leaving was just to see if you were academic enough to go to university and then leave it to the college to decide where you go to after a year of being there.
I get that the leaving cert helps boys mature but then why delay girls by a year. Or that it makes people a bit more mature when they get to the stress of the leaving. But would making the leaving less stressful and saving the year be better?
DVaTheFabulous on
I’d hate it if TY was mandatory when I was in school. I gladly skipped it.
SkyScamall on
That article sounds nothing like my experience of TY in the late noughties. To be fair, we were in the recession. It wasn’t mandatory in my school but there were maybe five out of the 100+ students who didn’t do it. People were pushed in to it by the school.
It was a nice break between exam cycles but that’s about it. Work experience felt more like who your parents/teachers knew to get you into the business for a week, rather than an area you were interested in. I did apply to a hospital program but didn’t get in. We were offered first aid training but that didn’t happen.
mrlinkwii on
it should be optional
burnerreddit2k16 on
Personally think it is a complete waste of time. You would be better off taking a year off after completing school or college when you are mature enough to appreciate it.
What is a 15/16 year old going to gain in TY? I imagine you can get work experience during the summer without being in TY
Tyrconnel on
I think it’s highly dependent on the school. I was one of about 25 students out of 100 in my year that did it in the 00s. My school pretty much allowed us to treat it as a doss year. It was probably beneficial for me socially, but with hindsight I can say it definitely negatively impacted my academic performance. When I joined 5th year I had definitely lost a step, and after a year of taking the piss every day, I didn’t have the discipline to regain it.
My sister’s school, on the other hand, had mandatory TY that was very well organized and it seems to have been very beneficial for students.
sheehonip on
We didn’t have TY year. Wouldn’t have done it anyway, wanted to get my leaving cert done ASAP.and get out of the shit hole of a school
mannicat8710 on
We had to do TY in my school and personally, it was beneficial. I found that the friend groups that were formed up to Junior Cert were split and mixed up so we got to know more of our classmates. We had a three day trip to Paris, a few overnight stays here and there. We had a TY play to put together and show the local primary schools with a further two nights in front of the public where different groups worked together.
With work experience, we had to organise the roles ourselves. I managed to get into my old primary school, the local creche and the vets. It helped me decide that although I did consider these as potential careers, they were not for me and that was a big decision for a 16 year old.
I would encourage teenagers to do this, you are long enough out in the big bad world, so an extra year at school wont impact either way. I found this also to be the case that when I started college, two of my friends had just turned 17 as they had skipped TY and did their Leaving at 16+, they struggled, were immature and even admit this themselves now.
undertheskin_ on
I think it’s good to have the option. It suits some, others not.
If your school also offers a poor TY program it’s also a bit pointless and can feel like a waste of time.
BitterSweetDesire on
Transition year was fabulous when i did it.. early 2000s. It removed the drone like teaching of the junior cert and matured us very quickly. Losts of independent activities and social engagement.
washingtondough on
I did TY and I’d say it was nothing like what the articles describing. I’d say about 10% of the year got something out of it and they were high achievers anyway. It wasn’t completely the school’s our attitudes were bad but there was few opportunities to be pushed out of our comfort zone. Other people got a good work experience because their parent’s had good connections so not sure about closing the cultural gap.
lennyy7 on
Ours good in fairness. I know it’s a doss of a year in some schools though
im_on_the_case on
I did it in the mid 90’s. Approached it as a doss year but it did change my life. Had no idea what I was going to do after school but in transition year we got exposed to computing, coding, etc. and a software engineer I became. Same goes for a lot of my classmates, some went into medicine/nursing because of their experiences doing social work, some got a taste for business on work placement. More than anything I feel it came at just the right time developmentally. Turning 16 does a number on you, you feel like you should be an adult but you most certainly are not. Hormones are raging and you need a break from the standard schooling before the pressures of the leaving cycle.
TDog81 on
Did my TY in 96/97 which was optional and it appears from the article, still in its infancy or major rollout, I still remember to this day the absolute shock of the first week of fifth year after being on the absolute doss for a year doing golf lessons, work experience, going on excursions and generally doing fuck all. Years later I still can’t figure out if it was good or bad for me as I made a lot of friends and had a lot of good memories but it definitely took me quite a while to get back up to speed with serious work ahead of the leaving cert.
al_sully_100 on
Did it in late 90’s and really enjoyed it. There were lots of things my school didn’t get right but TY was run really well. We kept up a bit of maths etc. to be ready for 5th year and then got a chance to try loads of other stuff. Art and Music were my highlights (I’m neither artist nor musical!). The classes were mixed randomly so I got to know loads more lads in the year and I got the feeling there was less bullying in general after the year (maybe fellas were growing up anyway). And most importantly I had the time to get really into a new sport which became a big part of my life for the next ten years. If you’re there just to get your good leaving cert then maybe skip it but for a more complete education I’d strongly recommend it.
RianSG on
I think it comes down to the school and the student.
My school offered loads to TYs, different subjects, different projects to get involved in etc which was great. I think anyone I know who said it was a waste of a year were the ones who didn’t put themselves forward for anything
expectationlost on
in my year students and even teachers stopped showing up, worst year of my life
RandomRedditor_1916 on
Was essentially just a doss year in my school. I opted out of it.
Have heard of other people having an amazing experience though.
limestone_tiger on
I loved TY
Did work experience in an art gallery and really got into photography. I also found that by getting an interest in photography gave me the opportunity to skip out on PE to use the dark room (same teacher)
shankillfalls on
I didn’t in ‘84/85. It was great.
Mundane-Inevitable-5 on
The Guardian seems to be very enamoured with all things Ireland lately for some reason.
TryToHelpPeople on
My daughter just finished TY in July and it had a hugely positive effect on her.
23 Comments
This was an interesting read. I’m very pro TY. The only thing I’d disagree with from the article was where it said teachers are held in much higher regard here than in the UK. That…is unfortunately not the case.
It seems to me that college is far too selective. If there was two streams for college a year of arts or a year of science you could go to and then further specialise would it be better?
As in if the leaving was just to see if you were academic enough to go to university and then leave it to the college to decide where you go to after a year of being there.
I get that the leaving cert helps boys mature but then why delay girls by a year. Or that it makes people a bit more mature when they get to the stress of the leaving. But would making the leaving less stressful and saving the year be better?
I’d hate it if TY was mandatory when I was in school. I gladly skipped it.
That article sounds nothing like my experience of TY in the late noughties. To be fair, we were in the recession. It wasn’t mandatory in my school but there were maybe five out of the 100+ students who didn’t do it. People were pushed in to it by the school.
It was a nice break between exam cycles but that’s about it. Work experience felt more like who your parents/teachers knew to get you into the business for a week, rather than an area you were interested in. I did apply to a hospital program but didn’t get in. We were offered first aid training but that didn’t happen.
it should be optional
Personally think it is a complete waste of time. You would be better off taking a year off after completing school or college when you are mature enough to appreciate it.
What is a 15/16 year old going to gain in TY? I imagine you can get work experience during the summer without being in TY
I think it’s highly dependent on the school. I was one of about 25 students out of 100 in my year that did it in the 00s. My school pretty much allowed us to treat it as a doss year. It was probably beneficial for me socially, but with hindsight I can say it definitely negatively impacted my academic performance. When I joined 5th year I had definitely lost a step, and after a year of taking the piss every day, I didn’t have the discipline to regain it.
My sister’s school, on the other hand, had mandatory TY that was very well organized and it seems to have been very beneficial for students.
We didn’t have TY year. Wouldn’t have done it anyway, wanted to get my leaving cert done ASAP.and get out of the shit hole of a school
We had to do TY in my school and personally, it was beneficial. I found that the friend groups that were formed up to Junior Cert were split and mixed up so we got to know more of our classmates. We had a three day trip to Paris, a few overnight stays here and there. We had a TY play to put together and show the local primary schools with a further two nights in front of the public where different groups worked together.
With work experience, we had to organise the roles ourselves. I managed to get into my old primary school, the local creche and the vets. It helped me decide that although I did consider these as potential careers, they were not for me and that was a big decision for a 16 year old.
I would encourage teenagers to do this, you are long enough out in the big bad world, so an extra year at school wont impact either way. I found this also to be the case that when I started college, two of my friends had just turned 17 as they had skipped TY and did their Leaving at 16+, they struggled, were immature and even admit this themselves now.
I think it’s good to have the option. It suits some, others not.
If your school also offers a poor TY program it’s also a bit pointless and can feel like a waste of time.
Transition year was fabulous when i did it.. early 2000s. It removed the drone like teaching of the junior cert and matured us very quickly. Losts of independent activities and social engagement.
I did TY and I’d say it was nothing like what the articles describing. I’d say about 10% of the year got something out of it and they were high achievers anyway. It wasn’t completely the school’s our attitudes were bad but there was few opportunities to be pushed out of our comfort zone. Other people got a good work experience because their parent’s had good connections so not sure about closing the cultural gap.
Ours good in fairness. I know it’s a doss of a year in some schools though
I did it in the mid 90’s. Approached it as a doss year but it did change my life. Had no idea what I was going to do after school but in transition year we got exposed to computing, coding, etc. and a software engineer I became. Same goes for a lot of my classmates, some went into medicine/nursing because of their experiences doing social work, some got a taste for business on work placement. More than anything I feel it came at just the right time developmentally. Turning 16 does a number on you, you feel like you should be an adult but you most certainly are not. Hormones are raging and you need a break from the standard schooling before the pressures of the leaving cycle.
Did my TY in 96/97 which was optional and it appears from the article, still in its infancy or major rollout, I still remember to this day the absolute shock of the first week of fifth year after being on the absolute doss for a year doing golf lessons, work experience, going on excursions and generally doing fuck all. Years later I still can’t figure out if it was good or bad for me as I made a lot of friends and had a lot of good memories but it definitely took me quite a while to get back up to speed with serious work ahead of the leaving cert.
Did it in late 90’s and really enjoyed it. There were lots of things my school didn’t get right but TY was run really well. We kept up a bit of maths etc. to be ready for 5th year and then got a chance to try loads of other stuff. Art and Music were my highlights (I’m neither artist nor musical!). The classes were mixed randomly so I got to know loads more lads in the year and I got the feeling there was less bullying in general after the year (maybe fellas were growing up anyway). And most importantly I had the time to get really into a new sport which became a big part of my life for the next ten years. If you’re there just to get your good leaving cert then maybe skip it but for a more complete education I’d strongly recommend it.
I think it comes down to the school and the student.
My school offered loads to TYs, different subjects, different projects to get involved in etc which was great. I think anyone I know who said it was a waste of a year were the ones who didn’t put themselves forward for anything
in my year students and even teachers stopped showing up, worst year of my life
Was essentially just a doss year in my school. I opted out of it.
Have heard of other people having an amazing experience though.
I loved TY
Did work experience in an art gallery and really got into photography. I also found that by getting an interest in photography gave me the opportunity to skip out on PE to use the dark room (same teacher)
I didn’t in ‘84/85. It was great.
The Guardian seems to be very enamoured with all things Ireland lately for some reason.
My daughter just finished TY in July and it had a hugely positive effect on her.