Everyone seems to have an opinion on how to run a school - after all, we've all been to one. But, with the points race still taking its toll and during a period of rapid change, it's not that easy, Patricia McDonagh, head of the organisation for schools' principals, tells Grainne Faller

'I think we've become a bit obsessed in this country with our children's education," says Patricia McDonagh, president of the National Association of Principals and Deputy Principals (NAPD) and deputy principal of Malahide Community School in north Co Dublin. "There needs to be a little bit more trust between parents and schools - that we will do a good job in educating their children. We will do the best job we can. Parents almost need to leave us and trust us to do that."

The need for parents to trust schools is an issue in which McDonagh believes strongly, and she returns to the point throughout the conversation. With 1,200 students, Malahide Community School is one of the largest secondary schools in the State, and its brand new, three-storey building has just opened its doors.

McDonagh is nearing the end of a long day. The Ombudsman for Children has just left after a school visit and she has been preparing her speech for the association's annual conference, which takes place at the end of this week. Still, she shows no sign of flagging.

Over her years of teaching, McDonagh has seen huge shifts in the relationship that students and parents have with education. Expectations are higher and parents are no longer afraid to approach a school if needs be. For McDonagh, the points race has been hugely influential in people's attitudes to second-level education. But where is the pressure coming from?

"I don't think there's any other country where the media gives such attention and focus to exams and college choices throughout the year," she says. "I do feel the media are a bit obsessed and creating a lot of the hype. There is also this adult peer pressure, this stress anxiety, this 'I must be seen as a parent to get my child into college, or I will have failed'."

McDonagh describes the difficulty that teachers face in trying to balance a holistic, multifaceted approach to education with the academic expectations of students and parents. It's one of the biggest tensions in school. Malahide Community School has a broad-ranging population. About 10 per cent of the students have special educational needs; another 10 per cent are newcomers to the country.

"These students enrich a school hugely, and we have to enable parents to understand that," she says. "I think we get the balance right here. We get the results, but we value the achievements of students who pass the Leaving Cert alongside those who get say, medicine in Trinity."

That said, across the State, but particularly in south Dublin, parents are turning away from State schools in favour of private education. Why, if State schools are getting it right, are parents opting for the competition?

"I think that parents believe, by paying for education, they are going to get something better," McDonagh says. "It has only become more polarised recently with increased affluence."

Investment is the key, she adds. "My view is that we shouldn't be harping on the differences. We should be saying to the Government, if that's what parents want, then the Government should be providing a higher standard of education for everybody."

She agrees that there is an argument for withdrawing State investment from private schools and ploughing it back into the State sector. "I think that State money should be paid to State schools to bring them up to the levels enjoyed by the private sector."

Again, McDonagh believes it comes back to the issue of trust between parents and the school. "If the local school has a good reputation and is non-fee-paying, then that should be good enough. Everybody has a viewpoint on education because they were in school. You don't think you can be a surgeon just because you have your appendix out. But everybody thinks they know how to run a school."

She smiles when she says this, but it's a valid point. "They need to trust and believe that we will get them their results."

What about grinds? Is the State sector being propped up by the grind schools? "Well, 60 per cent of students are getting grinds, and the biggest proportion of those are females in single-sex private schools. Students are doing fine in class, but all their friends are getting grinds and they become concerned that they'll be left behind.

"We're back to the idea of a race again. If we could get away from that we'd be much better off. This mythical finish line is putting pressure on everybody."

Many of issues affecting Irish teenagers - binge drinking, obesity, self-harm - can be traced back to the effect that the points race has on students. "They're not being allowed to grow up at their own pace," she says. "They're almost being forced through this system."

And it's not just students feeling the increased pressures - teachers, too, are stressed out maintaining discipline. Today's students are less passive, demanding more of teachers and challenging a school's authority. "There's a lot more negotiation involved. But the advantage of that is that you get a lot more out of them that way. They respect you, you respect them, and that's the way it should be."

McDonagh will say that discipline is not a big problem in her own school. But when a problem does arise, she adds, schools must be allowed to deal with the issue. In any one case, only a minority of students will be involved, but low level, constant disruption has to be taken seriously. "I think the balance has shifted wrongly in favour of those who are disruptive."

Measures such as a recent amendment to the appeals process, under which an expelled student can challenge an expulsion, have redressed that imbalance somewhat, but McDonagh says more needs to be done. "Schools have been very hamstrung in what they can do. The rights should really be on the side of those who want to learn and the teachers who want to teach."

Once a school follows its own procedures (recording incidents, placing sanctions on a disruptive students, providing all the necessary supports) then it should be supported in a decision to suspend or expel a student. "No school wants to do that," she says. "But I think we should have the right to do that if it comes to it."

Overall, McDonagh finds that parents are supportive if discipline issues arise. But attitudes do vary. "Teachers and parents are actually on the same side, but sometimes you're finding you can be battling with some parents to make them realise that discipline can be good. Schools are involved in character formation as much as parents are, but I don't think that people talk about character formation much anymore."

Despite the challenges and difficulties, McDonagh is optimistic about the future. She believes that we must avoid a scenario where education becomes entirely about results and money is concentrated in a few schools at the expense of others.

"It's difficult to plan for the future," she admits. "Kids are great nowadays. It can be challenging, but if you work with them they give you so much back. The best thing we can do is to produce well-rounded, balanced students who are good at problem-solving, who are independent learners, who can use technology but who have a good values system.

"That way, whatever life throws at them, they will be equipped to deal with it."