In Ireland, grinds are a form of private tuition. The grinds industry in Ireland, particularly at secondary school level, acts as a supplement to other forms of schooling and is described in some sources as "shadow education". In 2012, the

Revenue Commissioners The Revenue Commissioners (), commonly called Revenue, is the Irish Government agency responsible for customs, excise, taxation and related matters. Though Revenue can trace itself back to predecessors (with the Act of Union 1800 amalgamating ...

launched an investigation into a perceived failure of some teachers to declare extra income from giving grinds for tax purposes. The

Association of Secondary Teachers, Ireland The Association of Secondary Teachers, Ireland (ASTI) is a trade union for secondary school teachers in Ireland. It is a member of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions. The union represents 18,500 teachers in schools attended by 80% of all second ...

denied that this was a widespread problem.

Grind schools

Some private schools, such as

Ashfield College Ashfield College is a private post-primary school founded in 1977 and located in Dundrum in Dublin, Ireland. The school offers preparation for the Leaving Certificate examination, both as a two-year leaving certificate senior cycle, but also a ...

, Bruce College, the

Institute of Education The UCL Institute of Education (IOE) is the faculty of education and society of University College London (UCL). It specialises in postgraduate study and research in the field of education and is one of UCL's 11 constituent faculties. Prior t ...

, Leinster Senior College, and Yeats College which offer the

Leaving Certificate A secondary school leaving qualification is a document signifying that the holder has fulfilled any secondary education requirements of their locality, often including the passage of a final qualification examination. For each leaving certificate ...

as a single year (repeat) course, are sometimes called "grind schools". A study in 2020 indicated the students from Irish-speaking secondary schools and grind schools had strong chances of progressing to further education but were significantly less likely to finish their course or achieve a 2:1 degree or greater compared to students from secondary schools. A report, published in 2022 by the

Economic and Social Research Institute The Economic and Social Research Institute (Institiúid Taighde Eacnamaíochta agus Sóisialta in Irish) is an Irish research institute founded in 1960 to provide evidence-based research used to inform public policy debate and decision-making. ...

(ESRI), indicated that increasing numbers of "well-off pupils" were undertaking private grinds to "boost Leaving Cert grades".

Online grinds

During the COVID-19 pandemic in Ireland, Irish schools were shut down and elements of education shifted to online channels. A number of new "online-only" grinds schools were established. The rise of online grinds represented a shift in the way such education was delivered.

References

{{reflist Irish slang Secondary education in Ireland