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For more information on this release:

E-mail: information@cso.ie Felix Coleman (+353) 21 453 5129 Eoin McCuirc (+353) 21 453 5504

For general information on CSO statistics:

information@cso.ie (+353) 21 453 5000 On-line ISSN 2009-681X

CSO statistical release, 16 October 2014, 11am

Census At School

October 2013

98% of students now online on a weekly basis

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CensusAtSchool is a non-profit making project funded by organisations interested in promoting good use of statistics, mathematics and data handling. Ireland became involved in CensusAtSchool in 2009 when the Professional Development Service for Teachers (PDST), the CSO, Project Maths and the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) collaborated to set-up the Irish website www.censusatschool.ie.

8,610 secondary school students from 243 schools completed the Phase 12 questionnaire of the CensusAtSchool survey between August 2012 and August 2013. The questionnaire covered a variety of topics ranging from how students travelled to school to how much they use the internet and what types of musical instruments they play. Details of the CensusAtSchool project and more results from Phase 12 can be found on the website www.censusatschool.ie.

Interesting findings from Phase 12 results:

Nearly two-thirds of students (61%) were in touch with friends over the internet during the week prior to answering the survey. Just 2% of students stated they had not been online during the same time period (see Figure 1).
45% of students indicated they play a musical instrument. The most popular instruments were the Piano (30%), Guitar (25%) and the Tin Whistle (13%) (see Figure 2).
Over two-thirds of students (67%) have a game console at home (see Figure 3).
Spanish (41%) , Italian (16%) and Chinese(11%) were the languages stated by students as being the most preferred to learn when given a choice of any languages that were not currently available in their schools(see Figure 5).
The most common method of travelling to school by students was by Car (47%). Travelling by Bus (27%) and Walking (21%) were the next most popular methods of travelling to school (see Figure 6).
44% of students take less than 10 minutes to travel to school. In contrast 3% of students take over 60 minutes to travel to their school (see Figure 7).
Male and female students both selected Football, Boxing and Athletics as the top three sports in which they would most like to represent Ireland at the Olympics from a list of 28 options (see Figure 10).

What is the main musical instrument you play?
Overall 45% of students stated they play a musical instrument. Chart 2 highlights the ten most popular instruments listed by the respondents.

	Instrument
Piano	30.25
Guitar	24.48
Tin Whistle	13.36
Violin	4.99
Recorder	4.95
Drums (kit)	4.37
Flute	3.59
Accordion	1.79
Saxophone	1.24
Banjo	1.1

Which of the following (electronic or computer related devices/software) do you have?
The most popular device selected from the listed items was a Games console (67%). Just 0.5% of respondents stated they had none of the devices listed in Chart 3.

Electronic device ownership or usage	Electronic Device
Your own Bebo page	16.66
Your own Twitter page	34.08
A TV in your bedroom	39.78
Skype on a computer at home	50.28
Your own MP3 player e.g. iPod	59.86
Access to the internet from your mobile phone	62.56
Your own Facebook page	63.27
A game console at home	67.39

In how many languages can you hold an everyday conversation?
40% of students stated they could hold an everyday conversation in three languages. Just 1% stated they could hold a conversation in five or more languages.

Number of languages	Percentage
1 Language	26.26
2 Languages	27.81
3 Languages	40.16
4 Languages	4.36
5 or more Languages	1.41

Is there a language you would like to learn that is not currently available in your school?
A breakdown by gender of the students indicated females (44%) favour Spanish more than male students (35%) while males (9%) favoured studying Japanese more than females (4%).

X-axis label	Males	Females
Spanish	35.69	44.81
Chinese	12.34	10.83
Italian	11.65	18.62
Japanese	8.95	4.44
German	7.11	5.75
Russian	4.65	1.63
Latin	2.75	2.45
Portugese	2.35	0.01
Mandarin	1.84	1.54
Other	12.67	9.92

How long does it take and what method do you use to travel to school?
Nearly half of students (47%) normally travel to school by car. The highest percentage of car travel to school takes place in Waterford (69%) and Sligo (65%). Students in Fingal (29%) and Leitrim (35%) relied least on car travel.

X-axis label	Modes of Transport
Car	47.31
Bus	26.7
Walk	21.02
Cycle	2.09
Rail (Luas, Dart, etc)	1.39
Boat	0.93
Other	0.55

X-axis label	Time In Minutes
41-50	2.7
31-40	5.76
21-30	12.09
11-20.	32.6
0-10	44.17

How long is it since your last haircut?
Almost half of the students (43%) stated they had their last haircut less than four weeks ago. 59% of male students had a haircut in the four weeks prior to participating in the survey while a smaller percentage of females (29%) stated they had a haircut over the same time period.

X-axis label	Males	Females
Football	22.92	12.83
Boxing	11.44	12.32
Athletics	7.64	8.84
Shooting	5.59	7.61
Archery	5.56	7.36
Basketball	5.49	5.99
Swimming	3.93	5.56
Cycling	3.84	4.13
Weightlifting	3.45	3.65
Badminton	3.32	3.65

Almost one-third of female students (30%) indicated they paid €20 to €30 for a haircut while just 2% of male students indicated this to be the price they paid. The majority of male students (59%) indicated they paid less than €10 euros for their haircut.

X-axis label	Males	Females
Eur 0 - 9.99	58.8	18.19
Eur 10 - 19.99	36.36	21.92
Eur 20 - 29.99	1.89	30.15
Eur 30 - 39.99	0.36	13.95
Eur 40 - 49.99	0.33	6.35
Eur 50 or more	2.28	9.42

If you could take part in the Olympics, in which sport would you like to represent Ireland?
The Chart shows the top 10 sports chosen by students out of the 28 listed.

X-axis label	Males	Females
Football	22.92	12.83
Boxing	11.44	12.32
Athletics	7.64	8.84
Shooting	5.59	7.61
Archery	5.56	7.36
Basketball	5.49	5.99
Swimming	3.93	5.56
Cycling	3.84	4.13
Weightlifting	3.45	3.65
Badminton	3.32	3.65

Show Background Notes

Background Notes

About CensusAtSchools

The Royal Statistical Centre for Statistical Education (RSSCSE) started the CensusAtSchool project in 2000 in conjunction with the Office of National Statistics (ONS) in the UK. The project, originally a one-off, was linked to the UK population census of 2001. It has now developed into a dynamic, on-going and exciting initiative running in a number of countries.

Sample

8,610 secondary school attendees from 243 secondary schools completed the Phase12 questionnaire of the CensusAtSchool survey between August 2012 and August 2013. Because the survey is voluntary and not part of a representative sampling process, the results of the survey are less reliable in providing inferences about the overall secondary school student population.

Table 1 CensusAtSchool Phase12 responses classified by school year and gender
School Year	Male	Female	Not Stated	Total
1st	1282	1309	189	2780
2nd	707	985	97	1789
3rd	354	236	36	626
4th	168	105	21	294
Transition	740	996	90	1826
5th	421	518	38	977
6th	133	156	29	318
Total	3805	4305	500	8610

CensusAtSchool Phase 12 participation as a percentage of student population classified by Administrative County

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Note: The map only includes survey response when the roll number on the questionnaire response matched a school roll number provided by the Department of Education and Skills.

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