You do not have to go to a fee-paying school to get the highest Leaving Certificate grades. But it probably helps to be a girl. These conclusions can be drawn from some of the best results which became known to The Irish Times.
One student in St Mary's Secondary School, Mallow, Co Cork, got eight A1s at higher level, while two students from Abbey Vocational School in Donegal town each got seven A1s at higher level. Both school are in the free education scheme, and all three students are girls.
Natalie Barry was the only student in the Republic to get eight A1s. She was described by her principal at St Mary's, Sister Brid Biggane, as "very brilliant but also very hardworking". She took Irish, English, maths, physics, chemistry, biology, French and German, and she plans to study veterinary science in UCD.
In Donegal, Suzanne Brady and Dawn Davin, who were among the 15 students in the Republic to get seven A1s, both said they were surprised as well as delighted with their results. Both put them down to hard work.
"I knew I had to work extremely hard," said Dawn. "I knew I needed high grades to get into pharmacy in Trinity. But I didn't expect to do so well."
Her subjects were Irish, English, maths, French, chemistry, biology and home economics.
Her friend Suzanne covered the same range of subjects. However, she did physics and accountancy instead of biology and home economics. Her first choice for college was to study science in UCD, and, with such results, her place is assured. She will join her older sister in the faculty in October.
Dawn also has an older sister in Dublin. Vivien Davin is studying to become a national school teacher. The principal of their school, Mr J. J. Harvey, was delighted with their results, and, indeed, with results in the school overall.
Of the 163 students who took the Leaving Certificate this year, 67 got four Grade Cs, or better, on the higher-level papers, he said. "Several students got five A1s or better," he said.
Asked to explain their success, he said: "These people are very hard workers. Then this was the first year we had transition year. It helped them a lot."
The school offers 11 subjects at Leaving Certificate level: Irish, English, maths, French, biology, chemistry, physics, accountancy, home economics, history and geography. They are grouped into blocks, and this year the outstanding students had chosen the subjects in the science blocks, he said.
The Abbey Vocational School is co-educational. Most of those who had exceptionally good results were girls, according to Mr Harvey, who commented: "Generally girls do a lot better than boys."
The reason was simple: "Work, work, work. It's impossible to get the boys to do a decent day's work these days."
For educational reasons students are segregated in the Abbey Vocational School for the first three years. "In any class we ever mixed the boys pull the girls down. After three years we mix them and then the girls do their thing, and the boys do theirs, which is nothing."
He paid tribute to his staff for the results. "We're over the moon. We have a very good staff. . ."
In Dublin, Kate Nolan, who studies in Mount Anville, also got seven A1s, and her results assure her of a place in medicine in UCD.
Proving that boys can do as well, Conor Morkam of Bruce College, Limerick, also got seven A1s.
According to the Department of Education, 41 students got six A1s and 101 got five.