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Ireland's big school secret: how a year off-curriculum changes teenage lives

(www.theguardian.com)
204 points joveian | 1 comments | 16 Oct 24 17:36 UTC | HN request time: 0.193s | source
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anotherhue ◴[16 Oct 24 18:50 UTC] No.41862429[source]▶
20 years ago it was considered a 'doss year' (waste/screw-around etc.), and the general perception was that it was for those that require a little more time in the oven developmentally before proceeding to the next stage. I was a child then so I don't know if that was true, but certainly the majority of people who took it were not academically inclined.
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1. talideon ◴[16 Oct 24 22:45 UTC] No.41864626[source]▶
Not in my school: the vast majority who took it (this was the '90s, when it started) were the ones doing almost all honours.

It heavily depends on the school, I would guess, however, but often those who need "more time in the oven" come just as much from the academically inclined side as from the less academically inclined side. For both, it allows them a broader window on who they might be.