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What is Ireland like?

What is it like for teenagers in Ireland?

  • Okay so I am 15 years old and next year I'm moving to Ireland. Right now i live in the U.S near Los Angeles, California. I have a couple questions about what life is like for teenagers in Ireland. What do you guys do on the weekend? Are there separate schools for boys and girls? Do the schools make you wear uniforms? What is the shopping like there, like what stores are out there? We have stores like Hollister and Abercrombie, and i would probably die without them. Is everyone as friendly as people say they are? Whats the deal with the whole primary and secondary school systems, because i really dont understand the whole concept all that well. If anyone who is from ireland, or has lived there can answer thses questions, it would be greatly appreciated. thanks(:

  • Answer:

    I'm 15, and I live in Dublin. It's crap, at least where I'm from. It's so boring, there's pretty much nothing to do. We don't even have a local cinema anymore, it got closed down recently. They're reopening it again soon, but it's not open yet, and the next local cinema is a really crap one in a really posh and pretentious shopping centre, which I try and avoid. On the weekend, most people just go out with their friends. There's discos and all you can go to as well, and a lot of people do go out drinking, but not everyone does that. Like I said, most people just go out for walks with friends. Yeah, there's separate schools for boys and girls, but you can go to mixed ones if you want. I go to a mixed, it's well better. Hate to go to an all girl's school. Yeah, we have to wear uniforms. It's not that bad in winter, when the big jumper keeps you warm, but in summer, you're roasting, and not everyone washes their uniforms every day so it just smells of sweat, it's disgusting. Shopping's ok. Best shop is Penny's, most girls I know go shopping there. It's fairly cheap, but it has some nice bits and pieces. I don't think we have Hollister and Abercrombie, not sure though. Not everyone's friendly, it's like America, you get some nice people, some not nice. There's a lot of nice people, also a lot of not nice, but it's not any better or worse than America as far as I know. School system is simple. I don't get the American one. XD Here, there's two schools, primary school and secondary school. You start primary school when you're about 4-5, and you go into Junior Infants. The next year, you go into Senior Infants. The next year, you go into First Class, and you go up the classes over the next few years. So after First Class is Second Class, then Third Class, then Fourth Class, then Fifth Class, then Sixth Class. Then you're finished primary school, and you go into secondary school. In secondary school, your first three years, First Year, Second Year and Third Year, are your Junior Cycle. You spend these three years getting ready for your Junior Cert, which is a big exam at the end of Third Year. After Third Year, you start getting ready for your Leaving Cert. The Leaving Cert is the most important exam in school. It's like the Junior Cert, but it affects what colleges you can go to. You get points depending on how well you do in the exam, and different college courses want different points. You spend your last two years in school, Fifth Year and Sixth Year, preparing for this exam, and it takes place at the end of Sixth Year. You probably noticed I never mentioned a Fourth Year. That's cause we don't really have one, it's a bit confusing for you probably. A lot of schools just go from Third Year to Fifth Year, you finish your Junior Cycle and go straight onto your Leaving Cycle. But some schools give you the option of doing Transition Year, which is Fourth Year. It takes place between Third Year and Fifth Year, and is sort of a doss year. You don't do any exams, it's not about studying, it's about growing up, and becoming mature, and developing, a transition between being a kid and an adult. After Transition Year, you're kind of expected to be a lot more grown up and mature in school. I'm doing it, it's brilliant, but not all schools do, and you might not want to do it even if your school does.

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From what I hear, teenage life here is a lot nicer than the US. Some schools are coed, some segregated. Most school have a policy regarding uniforms, yes, and they are a very good idea. People are friendly, but if your idea of living is designer and designer only, you're in for a shock. Yes, you can get designer stuff, but you'd need to be near one of the cities. You might feel like dying, but if you're smart you'll rally and take on the challenge of looking good out of Dunns or Penneys. Primary schools are for younger children, you attend one until you're about 12 years old. After that you go to secondary school until you're about 18 or 19. After that you go to college or university. In Europe generally school finishes when you finish secondary school. We NEVER refer to university or college as school.

Orla C

Well it depends on people being nice. There are spicers or shmad lads as some of us call them here. It's basicly just like nackers, there think they're great and what not. Then there is just ordinary people(like me) and then losers an boring people ha ha. It just depends on peoples personalitys. I live in a place called tallaght near the Dublin mountains. Where are you moving to? In tallaght the local cinema was taken away but they're planning on rebuilding it. There is a shopping centre hear called the square. If you're moving to Dublin, there is a variety if shopping centres ie dundrum and Liffey valley. Oh and the square isn't that good anymore because of the recession. Dublin city is cool also. In the country nearly everyone plays Gaelic or hurling so that's the main thing going on there. Galway cork Dublin and Belfast have the best cities in Ireland. And I heard that I'm America yous consider like a 3 hour drive a short drive, well in 3 hours you could drive from Dublin to cork. At the weekends people just hang out, play football go shopping. It depends. The school systems are completly different here. At around 3/4 you enter playschool. In playschool you just basically drawn and play games. Then you enter primary school. You will spend roughly 8 years here. You start off in junior infants, then senior infants, the 1st class, then 2nd class, the 3rd class, 4th class, 5th class and 6th class. As each year goes on the work gets slightly harder. In 2nd class, you make your communion if your catholic and then in 6th class you make your confirmation. Then after primary you enter secondary school. In this there is 6 years. You start in 1st year and then continue until 6th year. In this you take on new subjects like woodwork, or home ec, or art etc. These are called options. Seconary school is broken up into two stages. 1st-3rd year and 5th to 6th. The first three years are focused on an exam called the junior cert. It Is basically a big exam in each subject. You do this at the end of 3rd year. Then after this there is 4th year aka transition year. This us like a year off. You still go to school and do work but there is no big exams or a lot of stress like the other years it's basically a doss year. After this you enter 5th year. Everything changed now you're now working towards the leaving cert. You do this at the end of 6th year. It is like the junior cert times 5. It's really hard. You need a good leaving cert to get into every good college. It basically will control the rest of your life. The better your leaving cert the more points you get and the higher the points the better. Oh and by the way, in some schools you get the choice to skip 4th year. By the time you leave school you should be about 17-19. Well I hope all this helped. Oh and if you're moving to tallaght in Dublin, there is a lot of music talent, mainly in Old Bawn Community School. I hope you enjoy!!

Well you'll have no problem getting drink most people start around 15 or 16 now why you would leave California for Ireland i don't know cos the weather will be a bit of a shock to you at first

Gavin O'brien

I mostly stay at home at the weekend, but some people go to disco's and wander around town. Some schools are single-sex and some are mixed. We have to wear uniforms in most schools and depending on your school policies on make-up,hair-colour and shoes can be quite strict. I usually go to the nearest city to go shopping. New Look, Topshop and places like that. The nearest Hollister is in Belfast (in Northern Ireland) and the nearest Abercrombie is in London so if you want those brands you'll have to order online or travel pretty far. People are pretty friendly, and you'll be knew so people will want to help you out. Primary school is for 5-12 about. It goes Junior Infants, Senior Infants, First Class - Sixth Class. Secondary School is about 13-18. It goes: 1st year 2nd year 3rd year(Junior Cert is taken this year, it is like a 'marker' in your school you then come back the next year as a 'senior'). Transition year(TY is may be optional, not done or compulsory depending on the school, you do a lot of projects in this year, school trips and work experience. It is mostly seen as a doss or fun year.) 4th/5th year(people call it different things sometimes it can be confusing, you start preparing for your final exam this year). Leaving Cert(you take your final exam, the leaving cert this year. If you do not get the points you want the year and exam can be retaken). Don't forget the weather here is cloudy/rainy most of the time! Hope you have a great time here and make lots of new friends :D

i hope i have an answer?!?

depending on what you look like what you listen to and what you wear you will find it like the USA We have a lot of people from different country's living here now so Irish is no longer a white country its a multi racial country and has seen ALOT of change in the past few years. Some schools are still based on the old religious order and as such are strict but many are state run and yes we have uniforms but depends on where you go, for example if you go to one school here in Carlow the girls look like hookers ... no really their knee length skirts are pulled up and doubled around the waste that they come up their bums and if one has a particularly large but nice (think kim kardasian bum) everyone gets a treat lol. however if your school is more religious based like some in limerick the dresses are 2 inches below the foot and you trip over them. we have many stores and "malls" but depends on where you are as Ireland is more or less up **** creek with out a paddle Dublin is your best choice i guess for shopping. welcome to rainy miserable Ireland good by sunny LA

Tony T

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