School boards have highlighted the difficulties of overcrowded classrooms and underfunded schools in the latest series of inspection reports.

A school district in Los Angeles is taking concrete steps to transform its 29 principals into instructional leaders rather than managers of school buildings.

Senior management at Kerry County Council claims that some primary schools in the county are using six times more water than they pay for.

The abolition by the government of the Summer Works Scheme in its very first budget shows a deep level of cynicism and will have a devastating effect on schools, according to Kilkenny Councillor Mary Hilda Cavanagh.

Researchers at Manchester University are seeking a method of comparing schools which would take account of factors other than exam results.

A second-year student from Presentation Secondary School, Tralee, Co Kerry, has won the BT Young Scientist of the Year Award 2008.

The man who is said to have “the best CV in the world” is not impressed with Ireland’s education system. International banker Peter Sutherland slammed the system as grossly under-funded and “not as good as we think it is”.

Lack of resources has forced a well-respected secondary school in Co Mayo to amalgamate ordinary and honours levels Leaving Cert Irish classes.