Exemption from Irish

S_Barry3011

Hi all,

I am currently in transition year and I have an exemption from Irish as I was born in London and lived there for about a year, but my school is still going make me go to Irish class up until Christmas in 6th year even though I am not sitting the leaving cert exam. I would like to do 7 subjects for the leaving cert but there are only 8 periods in my school day, one of which is irish and the other is religion. I have asked the school administrator if I could do physics instead of Irish but she refused.
Are there any rules regarding this or is there anymore I can do?

Thanks

jamo2oo9

S_Barry3011 wrote: »

Hi all,

I am currently in transition year and I have an exemption from Irish as I was born in London and lived there for about a year, but my school is still going make me go to Irish class up until Christmas in 6th year even though I am not sitting the leaving cert exam. I would like to do 7 subjects for the leaving cert but there are only 8 periods in my school day, one of which is irish and the other is religion. I have asked the school administrator if I could do physics instead of Irish but she refused.
Are there any rules regarding this or is there anymore I can do?

Thanks

I was in the same position as you were. I was exempt from Irish but I was forced to go into the class as I had to be supervised and there wasn't anyone else to do that during Irish classes. You can get permission to study physics during Irish but in a different classroom that is empty.

Have you asked the principal? They get the final word of order, not the admin. You can always take up physics outside school and use the free Irish classes to study for it, practice questions, learn the laws of whatever.

S_Barry3011

You can get permission to study physics during Irish but in a different classroom that is empty.

Yeah, I would definitely do that but they are making me do the classwork, homework, tests etc.

Also they are saying there is some rule that even if you were born abroad you still have to go to Irish class unless you lived abroad until the age of 11 or 12

jamo2oo9

S_Barry3011 wrote: »

Yeah, I would definitely do that but they are making me do the classwork, homework, tests etc.

Also they are saying there is some rule that even if you were born abroad you still have to go to Irish class unless you lived abroad until the age of 11 or 12

Nope, if you are exempt from any language, you are not required to do any homework, classwork, tests or oral work for that language. You say that to the principal, the vice principal and your year head. It should be resolved. If not, get your parents to come in to the school and talk to the principal about it.

You shouldn't be forced to do something that you have an exemption in.

Canard

jamo2oo9 wrote: »

Nope, if you are exempt from any language, you are not required to do any homework, classwork, tests or oral work for that language. You say that to the principal, the vice principal and your year head. It should be resolved. If not, get your parents to come in to the school and talk to the principal about it.

You shouldn't be forced to do something that you have an exemption in.

No, that's if you're exempt because you moved here when you were 11/12. The exemption for being born outside of Ireland is different, all it means is that you don't need Irish to get into any of the NUIs, but the department of education still makes you attend the classes. I would have thought teachers would be more accommodating though...I wouldn't waste my time on a subject I was exempt from if I were you, OP.

S_Barry3011

Ok, well I suppose if the teachers dont change their minds there is nothing else I can do.

Canard

Did you sit Irish for the JC? Maybe you could do foundation level standard work or something and do it badly...it wouldn't take too much of your time and they can't exactly tell you to 'improve for the exam' or anything.

McKrab

Ye I was in the same position and had to go to classes until Christmas of 6th Year.
You could probably talk to the teacher about just sitting at the back and doing homework from other subjects.
It's not technically allowed, since the Department requires that you attend the class, but both of the Irish teachers I had were fine with it.

MegGustaa

Is your Irish exemption for the NUIs/Universities or the SEC/DES? Because I'm pretty sure you're entitled to the NUI exemption if you were born abroad, regardless of where you lived after that (either way it's quite lenient) but the SEC one requires you to either have not learned Irish before the age of 11/12 (ie living abroad until then) or have lived abroad for something like 3-4 years after the age of 11. Anyone with the SEC/DES one is also exempt from the NUI one afaik. There were a few people in my school with varying circumstances about where they were born and where they grew up and I think the ones who were born abroad but lived in Ireland before 5th class were still required to sit Irish by the SEC/DES (I don't know who actually has this requirement or why, but it's definitely separate to the universities' one, and doesn't fully exempt you from actually having to do Irish while you're in school).

EDIT: I re-read previous posts and saw it's the NUI exemption.

Peregrine

S_Barry3011 wrote: »

Hi all,

I am currently in transition year and I have an exemption from Irish as I was born in London and lived there for about a year, but my school is still going make me go to Irish class up until Christmas in 6th year even though I am not sitting the leaving cert exam. I would like to do 7 subjects for the leaving cert but there are only 8 periods in my school day, one of which is irish and the other is religion. I have asked the school administrator if I could do physics instead of Irish but she refused.
Are there any rules regarding this or is there anymore I can do?

Thanks

So here's the problem..you're not exempted from learning Irish.


You moved to Ireland when you were one. I know people who moved here at eight, nine and myself who moved at 10(and didn't do Irish until I got to secondary at 12) - we're not exempt. We enrolled in the Irish education system before we were 11, therefore we have to do Irish. That's the rule.

Now the NUI exemption, assuming that's what you have, is simply a matriculation exemption. It means you don't need Irish to get into NUI colleges. You don't have to sit the Irish exam if you don't want to, you don't even have to even sit the maths exam if you don't want to, but you'll have to face the consequences of it though. In your case, there are no consequences of not doing Irish because you have an exemption from entering NUIM, NUIG, UCC, UCD without Irish and the other colleges only require English or Irish or English and second language.

Whatever about your future entry requirements to NUI, your school is still obliged to teach you Irish.


NUI should really rename their matriculation exemption to something else..

S_Barry3011

@Nimrod 7
You're right its the NUI matriculation exemption that I have. Thanks to all for the info.

randylonghorn

MegGustaa wrote: »

I think the ones who were born abroad but lived in Ireland before 5th class were still required to sit Irish by the SEC/DES (I don't know who actually has this requirement or why

DES.

Nim has outlined the situation very well above.