Education across the island of Ireland: comparing systems and outcomes

John Fitzgerald, the economics correspondent for the Irish Times, argued that “Northern Ireland urgently needs to reform its educational system to deliver better results for children of all abilities and backgrounds”, labelling the current system as “a recipe for failure”.1 While not quite bringing himself to say it, Fitzgerald’s implication was that education in the Republic of Ireland (RoI) was in much better condition than that in Northern Ireland (NI). The NI view of their education system seems to be different. The Belfast Telegraph, for instance, proclaims that “Northern Ireland has repeatedly produced the best results in the UK in GCSE and A-Level exams”, and voiced with approval “the favourable reputation [that students from NI] enjoy with the top English and Scottish universities”.2 This paper will explore the systems of education on both sides of the border in Ireland to see what we can learn from them.