Mid-Term dates are planned in advance by the principals of the three post-primary schools in Tipperary town. They meet in June each year and discuss the holiday schedule for the coming year.

The dates of mid-term breaks, some parent-teacher meetings, graduate dances and end-of-term days are all co-ordinated and agreed upon. The break-up times of these days are agreed at a meeting in June when the new academic year is mapped out. The principals of the Abbey CBS School, St Ailbe's School and St Anne's Mercy Secondary School also meet officials of the bus companies and co-ordinate times and days with them.

John Heffernan, principal of the Abbey CBS, says the system of co-ordinating the dates "is excellent, it's all agreed in advance. It's so fair and sensible for the families and the bus companies as well." Private bus companies and Bus Eireann operate bus routes in and out of the town, bringing students to the three schools from outlying areas up to 15 miles away - from places such as Bansha, Golden, Oola, Galbally and Pallasgreen.

"It's a brilliant system," Heffernan says. "The buses all run on the same day." Co-ordinating dates means that the schools avoid problems which might otherwise exist for families who have boys and girls at different schools in the town.

Maura English, deputy principal of St Anne's Mercy, agrees: "We've been doing it a long, long time."