Mock Fees?

Ours are €20, inclusive of all materials and external correction. Looks like many of your schools are ripping you off.

Fad

-JammyDodger- wrote: »

Looks like many of your schools are ripping you off.

Or have less funds then yours

rainbowtrout

JSK 252 wrote: »

What I was just saying is its a bit over the top the fees people have to pay for the pres/mocks when they arent even the authentic examination! Well they try to be, but they arent. This is as a result of according to my teacher who is an advising examiner in geography ( which I probably have said 100s of times now please excuse me if I have:D) the oligopolistic situation of 2 pre paper companies in Ireland.

Schools are under no obligation to do mocks. Some (a small minority) schools don't do any mocks. Some schools make their teachers set their own mock papers and correct them to keep down costs. Most schools buy their papers from the 2 companies operating in Ireland. There were more mock companies in the past but it obviously wasn't sustainable for more than 2 to continue operating. These companies have to pay people to set papers as well as correct them. So the likes of English, Irish and Maths will be quite profitable, choice subjects maybe not so much, like Applied Maths, Italian, Physics with Chemistry etc etc. Again as I've already said, they're in it for profit. I've corrected mocks for a number of years and I've noticed that about half the schools get students to provide their own paper for exams (pages from refill pads) while the rest use pre-printed booklets from these companies. I imagine that schools trying to keep the cost down for parents this year might go for option 1.

-JammyDodger- wrote: »

Ours are €20, inclusive of all materials and external correction. Looks like many of your schools are ripping you off.

No they are not, you may have paid other contributions to your school at the start of the year which may go to subsidise mock fees. You may have been told they are corrected externally. It might not be the case. Again above I made the point of booklets costing money, maybe your school get them locally or provide paper themselves. Anywhere between €60-100 is about normal.

Fad

Fad wrote: »

Or have less funds then yours

Yah, that might be true. I can't see my school having all that much more funds though, it's a completely average country school.

rainbowtrout

rainbowtrout wrote: »

No they are not, you may have paid other contributions to your school at the start of the year which may go to subsidise mock fees. You may have been told they are corrected externally. It might not be the case. Again above I made the point of booklets costing money, maybe your school get them locally or provide paper themselves. Anywhere between €60-100 is about normal.

I, nor anybody else in my school, have paid anything other than the €20. That's the price, we didn't pay any other contributions, none whatsoever. And I know, for a fact, that they get them corrected externally. We also use booklets, booklets that are pretty much identical to the LC ones.

Jammyc

Yeah, our school doesnt have that much funds tbh

Its owned by the Holy Faith Sisters, who dont teach or run the school at all.
Its just in an awkward place. So because were owned by the convent we apparently dont get as much funding as government owned schools do or something.

macroman

Haven't been asked for moolah yet but I reckon it'd be around €30.

JSK 252

rainbowtrout wrote: »

Schools are under no obligation to do mocks. Some (a small minority) schools don't do any mocks. Some schools make their teachers set their own mock papers and correct them to keep down costs. Most schools buy their papers from the 2 companies operating in Ireland. There were more mock companies in the past but it obviously wasn't sustainable for more than 2 to continue operating. These companies have to pay people to set papers as well as correct them. So the likes of English, Irish and Maths will be quite profitable, choice subjects maybe not so much, like Applied Maths, Italian, Physics with Chemistry etc etc. Again as I've already said, they're in it for profit. I've corrected mocks for a number of years and I've noticed that about half the schools get students to provide their own paper for exams (pages from refill pads) while the rest use pre-printed booklets from these companies. I imagine that schools trying to keep the cost down for parents this year might go for option 1.

Oh yah, sure most of the private schools such as bruce college have their own house pre exams made by their own teachers.

implausible

-JammyDodger- wrote: »

I, nor anybody else in my school, have paid anything other than the €20. That's the price, we didn't pay any other contributions, none whatsoever. And I know, for a fact, that they get them corrected externally. We also use booklets, booklets that are pretty much identical to the LC ones.

There's absolutely no way that €20 covers all of your mock papers and corrections! The money is coming from somewhere else. €20 wouldn't cover the price of LC HL English papers and corrections, let alone any other papers.

Fad

JSK 252 wrote: »

Oh yah, sure most of the private schools such as bruce college have their own house pre exams made by their own teachers.

Need I remind you that most Private Schools arent like Bruce College!
(But that is a debate that has been done to death and not for here)

Jammyc

Fad wrote: »

(But that is a debate that has been done to death and not for here)

+1

spurious

The best sort of mock paper is one entirely based on previous actual SEC exams. At least one of the big mock paper companies regularly has had questions on their mock papers that are not on the syllabus. Be careful basing any sort of predictions on these mock papers.

deemark

deemark wrote: »

There's absolutely no way that €20 covers all of your mock papers and corrections! The money is coming from somewhere else. €20 wouldn't cover the price of LC HL English papers and corrections, let alone any other papers.

Well, €20 euro is all we pay. It's my second time doing the Leaving Cert. in the school, and it was €20 euro last year, too. Unless the school subsidise it somehow, I don't know.

Jammyc

spurious wrote: »

The best sort of mock paper is one entirely based on previous actual SEC exams. At least one of the big mock paper companies regularly has had questions on their mock papers that are not on the syllabus. Be careful basing any sort of predictions on these mock papers.

Will do. Thanks for the heads up!

JSK 252

Fad wrote: »

Need I remind you that most Private Schools arent like Bruce College!
(But that is a debate that has been done to death and not for here)

In what way? Seriously?:pac: ( if I have begun a tangent please forgive me ). Are the private schools different in Dublin because I havent a clue!:D I was just taking Cork for an example!

Toto Wolfcastle

JSK 252 wrote: »

In what way? Seriously?:pac: ( if I have begun a tangent please forgive me ). Are the private schools different in Dublin because I havent a clue!:D I was just taking Cork for an example!

Bruce is a grinds school.

Fad

JSK 252 wrote: »

Are the private schools different in Dublin because I havent a clue!:D I was just taking Cork for an example!

I had a long answer typed out with comparisons, but it was a bit unessecary.

I will humour you momentarily.............Bruce College and The IOE are examples of Grind Schools, while they may be private, they arent the same as your average private school.

Now as you may already be aware a Grind School is almost exclusively exam focused. Grind Schools are typically private schools, but that doesnt mean One Private School≠Another

A private school is just like your ordinary secondary school but with one other element, think of it as a membership fee to some pointless club or a creche fee.

Piste

They usually have better facilities too, as they can afford it with the money from the fees. They may also offer classes/services not offered by other schools as they can afford to.

JSK 252

Fad wrote: »

I had a long answer typed out with comparisons, but it was a bit unessecary.

I will humour you momentarily.............Bruce College and The IOE are examples of Grind Schools, while they may be private, they arent the same as your average private school.

Now as you may already be aware a Grind School is almost exclusively exam focused. Grind Schools are typically private schools, but that doesnt mean One Private School≠Another

A private school is just like your ordinary secondary school but with one other element, think of it as a membership fee to some pointless club or a creche fee.

Oh yah I know bruce, hewitt and the tute for example are grind schools but I just call them private!:pac: I know you have private schools such as Christian Brothers who work like any other main stream school but you also have to pay a fee.

I should have you used the term '' grind school ''. Forgive me!

Fad

Piste wrote: »

They usually have better facilities too, as they can afford it with the money from the fees. They may also offer classes/services not offered by other schools as they can afford to.

Coming from you!

I'd go insofar as to say you have a nicer school.

MathsManiac

"Private school" is a pretty misleading term in the Irish context, at least in the manner it's being bandied about in the above posts. All secondary schools in the state, for example, are private schools, as they are privately owned and managed (the majority by religious bodies). Some are fee-paying and others are in the free education scheme, but that doesn't affect whether or not they are private.

One might argue that schools such as the Institute of Education and Bruce College are "even more private", since they receive no state funding towards teachers salaries or capitation. These are not "recognised secondary schools", in the sense the Department uses the term.

None of the vocational schools, community colleges, community schools and comprehensive schools are private, since they are managed by public bodies, or by boards with substantial representation of public bodies.

The best way to distinguish between fee-paying and non-fee-paying ordinary schools is to say exactly that. That is: "I'm in a fee-paying secondary school" or "I'm in a non-fee-paying secondary school" (or, if you like, "I'm in a secondary school in the free education scheme").

-Aviron-

Ours are free.
We do ours before Christmas and therefore the teachers have to set their own mocks (I'm led to believe the companies don't have any made up by this stage).
I think it is a pretty good system (gives you 6 months to fix things if you completely ''cock it up''). Did anybody else finish their mocks before Christmas?

Toto Wolfcastle

-Aviron- wrote: »

Ours are free.
We do ours before Christmas and therefore the teachers have to set their own mocks (I'm led to believe the companies don't have any made up by this stage).
I think it is a pretty good system (gives you 6 months to fix things if you completely ''cock it up''). Did anybody else finish their mocks before Christmas?

When I was in school we did the 'pre-pres' in November and the 'pres' in February.

ayapatrick

JSK 252 wrote: »

It aint a fare deal is it considering the leaving cert fee for 2009 is 109 euro? eh?

Its expensive alrite.! mine last year was 88 or 98 euro, forget and the mocks were the same price.

ah just a question for any of ye, Im repeating one subject this year, surely i wont have to pay the full fees?

Fad

-Aviron- wrote: »

Ours are free.
We do ours before Christmas and therefore the teachers have to set their own mocks (I'm led to believe the companies don't have any made up by this stage).

Your being lied to

I've seen teachers with sample ones:)

spurious

ayapatrick wrote: »

Its expensive alrite.! mine last year was 88 or 98 euro, forget and the mocks were the same price.

ah just a question for any of ye, Im repeating one subject this year, surely i wont have to pay the full fees?

From the SEC site:
Repeat entry (1 subject) €109

Make sure your application is in on time, as there are additional fees for being late.

ayapatrick

spurious wrote: »

From the SEC site:
Repeat entry (1 subject) €109

Make sure your application is in on time, as there are additional fees for being late.

thanks lad! ah i think it could be 67euro looking at the site! either way its a bad fekin deal!

hey!!!

im sorry for adding in another topic but omg......i just found out 2day that the cao costs 70euro.....wot is that money 4????

Jammyc

hey!!! wrote: »

im sorry for adding in another topic but omg......i just found out 2day that the cao costs 70euro.....wot is that money 4????

Its only 70 if you apply after the 1st of February.
Its 35 online before 21st January and 45 between then and February.

dragonfly!

mine was €80 or €85 last year:eek: worth it for the experience of managing your time and all that but def not cuz they took so long to come back after easter but having said that easter was fairly early last year... loads of them hadnt been corrected prop either got 48 per cent in home ec according to the top of paper but when i added up the marks for each question it went to over 60 per cent and even at that i had things right that were marked wrong:mad:
So my point is not worth that kinda money at all when they cant even correct them prop