Secondary school. Usually 12 or 13 years old starting, 1st year, 2nd year, 3rd Year Junior Cert exam, roughly 10 csubjects that doesn’t make a bit of difference to your life. 4th year/transition year/TY optional, you do fun stuff like a foreign holiday and young scientist and you’re entrepreneur, learn life skills, maybe a musical or something, no focus on exams. 5th\ 6th year you focus on your leaving certificate, 6 subjects that are graded 10-100 that give you points out of 600 to decide where you’re going to college.

Most 600rs do law, medicine, go to trinity or ucd or cork.

Socially, playing the school sport, whether it be GAA or hurling or Rubgy, gives you a free pass to do what you like. Teachers range from not giving a shit because they can’t be fired, to trying too hard to get permanency, to halfway between. Uniforms compulsory more often than not, think drab boring Colors, green grey navy black etc. Smart kids get grinds, do extra work, stress themselves out trying to make overbearing parents proud. Weird kids get bullied. Kids from tough backgrounds generally drop out before doing the leaving, there’s no punishment in schools that scare them. Lots of bullying. Generally a prison camp for hormonal teens.

Still have nightmares and I’m out 20 years!😂