Mr. Humphrey Jones:

I do not have a comparison of boys', girls' and mixed schools, but we did a survey of our members as part of our consultation. We submitted this report to the NCCA as part of the consultation process and we surveyed our teachers and asked them if they felt that they had adequate laboratory facilities to facilitate the AACs as they are envisaged. A total of 82% of our members said no. I do not have a breakdown in terms of single-sex schools or whatever, but the vast majority felt that they did not have enough resources.

I might make a brief point on something the Deputy said previously. It is sometimes unfair to say that secondary schools just have rote learning. As a teacher and as a parent, I see my students or even my daughter engaging in learning in lots of different ways. I agree that the leaving cert, as it is currently, rewards rote learning - there is no doubt about that - but it is slightly unfair to mention that. I would give credit to the State Examinations Commission here because if you have ever looked at a recent exam in any subject, there has been improvement and the exams are much better these days. There is an awful lot more emphasis on critical thinking, data analysis and skills analysis within the papers themselves, and it is not just about regurgitating facts or the definition of osmosis.