Ireland now has one of the best education systems in the world. Class sizes are small, exam results are good and most children are happy to stay at school after the minimum leaving age of sixteen. It is easy to forget that the picture used to be very different.

For years, Ireland had one of the most complicated education systems in the world. There were many different kinds of school, but most of them had a lot in common. Classes were large and the teaching was very traditional. As in many countries, teachers used to hit the children if they made mistakes (the government banned corporal punishment in 1982).

Parents used to pay for their children's education and, as a result, there were schools for the rich and schools for the poor. Boys and girls went to different schools and studied different subjects. Nowadays, most schools are free and only about half the schools are single-sex. In many ways, education is now a woman's world. Girls do better than boys in their exams, more girls go to university and most teachers are women.

At the end of secondary school, students take their final exams (the `Leaving Certificate'). Compulsory subjects are maths, history, Irish and a foreign language. In addition, they must choose two or three extra subjects. Some of these. like Business Organization, help to prepare them for the world of work. This is very different from the past when Latin, Greek and Religion used to be the most important subjects.