 Schools
Types of schools
There are five types of school in Northern Ireland. These are:
Secondary school types and subjects
In relation to the situation in Northern Ireland the religious segregation of
primary and post-primary education is the clearest demarcation of the education
system. It may be useful to consider the religious breakdown of
secondary school students.
A survey of 1500 GCSE students found that there were some differences between
the choice of subject.
Sports
Sporting activities differ slightly between the schools. Whereas Catholic
schools play Gaelic games such as Gaelic football, hurling and camogie,
Protestant schools will play rugby, cricket and hockey. Both engage in the full
range of other sports activities. The report 'Schools Apart' noted some of these
differences. Figures were acquired for:
Discipline
A survey of 1 000 schools in Northern Ireland in 1987 estimated that 3% of
primary school children and 5% of secondary school, some 15 000 children, were
disruptive. This was attributed to factors such as problems in the home, peer
pressure, poor social skills or psychological problems.
Until 1987 corporal punishment was permitted in schools in Northern Ireland.
In 1982 the European Court of Human Rights ruled against the use of corporal
punishment.
In 1987 the Rogers Report advocated greater teacher-parent liaison as a more
acceptable way of dealing with the problem of disruptive behaviour in the
classroom.
Although some three quarters of schools wished to retain corporal punishment it
was officially banned on 16 August 1987.
Schools have devised many different forms of sanctions such as greater parent
involvement, conduct cards, extra work, loss of privileges, detention,
suspension and expulsion.
 Return to N.
Ireland Education Section
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