The Junior Certificate (the Inter as it was known when I did it) has lost some of its power over the past couple of decades as, firstly, more and more people stayed on to do the Leaving Cert and, in more recent times, more people went on to third level.
However, that's all very easy to say for someone who has long since finished the Junior Cert. Try telling it to someone staring down the barrel of the gun of June exams, particularly with union strife and talk of postponement. JuniorCert.net aims to be the definitive resource for Junior Cert students and teachers and it takes more than a perfunctory stab at its ambition.
The site is commercial and its homepage leaves you in no doubt that it means business. The first thing to catch your eye is an exhortation to "Check out our first free members draw!" - the prize is a mobile phone. Nevertheless, the quality of the education content provided is where a site such as this will live or die. If it cannot deliver the goods, no amount of glitzy prizes will entice you to visit again.
To this end, 10 subjects are covered, from the expected Irish, English and maths, to technical graphics and civic, social and political education (CSPE). German, rather than the more commonly studied French or Spanish, is the only foreign language covered.
For each topic there are details on what the syllabus is about, what you have to study, a breakdown on how the paper is marked and links to websites with further information. A lot of the links are to English sites, and while the fact that these are in any way relevant says a lot about the homogeneity of modern education. It also makes you wonder why JuniorCert.net could not cover these areas itself in a more syllabus-specific way.
In general JuniorCert.net is well laid out and finding what you are looking for is relatively easy, but sometimes getting back to the homepage is difficult - something that can get very annoying very quickly. It was put together by Junior Cert teachers, and it does not provide anything that a good teacher cannot provide. But not everyone has the benefit of a good, well-informed teacher. Pupils, and concerned parents may find some help here.
