At secondary school, particularly in exam years, homework can seem like a drag - for students, parents and teachers. Louise Holden on how to get the most out of study time.

During the exam years, homework can become a battleground where the wills of parents, students and teachers clash.

Parents hear all the complaints; the Irish teacher is overloading the essay questions and there's no time for revision; maths is cutting into other subject areas; the geography teacher hasn't finished the course but she's giving exam questions for homework. Students are stressed and looking for scapegoats and parents just want to help.

According to the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) survey, Irish students spend more time at their homework than most. Irish 15-year-olds do almost five-and-a-half hours of English, maths and science homework a week. They also spend more hours in grinds than the average student. On top of a seven-hour day, it's a lot of ask of anyone.

The recommended homework time in fifth and sixth year is somewhere between three and four hours a night. Perfectionists and procrastinators can drag this out indefinitely. Many complain that they can't get near revision because homework takes all night. Rory Mulvey of Student Enrichment Services maintains that after a certain point, homework becomes a plain waste of time. Spending hours at homework assignments to prepare for the Leaving Cert is like running marathons to train for the 100-metre dash.

"In as far as possible, every homework assignment should be regarded as exam practice," says Mulvey, who runs study skills seminars at the beginning of every term. "Students who complain that they are getting too much homework when they would rather be revising should look at how long they are spending at each assignment. If they are spending more time than they would in an exam setting, then they are not approaching homework properly."

Consider an essay question for Leaving Certificate English Paper 2. If you only get 40 minutes to answer on Shakespeare in the exam, then there's not much sense in spending two hours answering on Shakespeare for homework. It could, in fact, be counterproductive, as you will train yourself to spend two hours perfecting your theory on the Fatal Flaw and then find you can't express it on the day.

"Many students hate exams because they claim they can't work under pressure," says Mulvey. "They are perfectionists who want to produce the best work possible, no matter how long it takes. The fact is that the Leaving Cert papers are timed and the students who do best are those who have practised working against the clock." Once you start thinking about homework in this way, it goes some way to addressing the problem of homework time leaking into study time. If you can't get the assignment completed in the time it would take in an exam, you've learned to work faster next time. Close the book and move on, says Mulvey.

Getting into good homework habits starts with a good timetable, says Peter McLoughlin, Learning Support Teacher at St Mary's Secondary School in Ballina, Co Mayo. Peter provides structured study-skills support for both students and parents at St Mary's, starting in first year and continuing right through to Leaving Cert. It's an approach that is obviously working; St Mary's has topped the league tables for Mayo as a main feeder school for NUI Galway, UCD and TCD.

"Right from first year, we encourage students to keep a nightly homework timetable on the fridge or in a prominent place in the house," says McLoughlin. "If students work to the timetable and parents keep an eye on their progress, homework shouldn't drag on into the night. Each family finds different ways to manage homework, but parental involvement is very important." One parent from St Mary's takes three hours every night to sit at the kitchen table with her daughter and reads the newspaper while homework is being done. She doesn't interfere with the work itself, but her presence and the air of studiousness helps her daughter to get the work done, she says.

McLoughlin tailors his study support to the learning style of each student he deals with. He uses the multiple intelligence theory of Howard Gardner and believes that if students get to know themselves as learners they can harness their most productive skills. "Students who are not strong on linguistic intelligence will not find it easy to sit for long periods reading," says McLoughlin. "They may be spatial learners, who apply themselves better to actions such as drawing mind maps or creating diagrams. They may be kinaesthetic learners, who need to move about frequently and apply learning practically." No student can work well with phones ringing, televisions blaring or small children seeking attention, says McLoughlin. The importance of creating a quiet space cannot be overestimated.

When it comes to drawing a distinction between study and homework, St Mary's principal Patsy Sweeney is sympathetic to parents who complain that children are overworked. "We know that Leaving Cert students have a lot to deal with and sometimes the homework burden can seem onerous. That is why we have a policy of keeping homework light at this school. In homes where students are struggling, we ask parents to take a look at the bigger picture. Often if a student is overburdened with homework, grinds are causing the problem."

With up to 70 per cent of Leaving Cert students getting grinds, the extra workload is considerable. Getting to and from the weekly tuition is a waste of time in itself, but what many parents forget is the extra homework that comes with private lessons.

"This is a hugely contentious issue in schools," says Sweeney. "The hours don't exist for students to do their regular homework, go to grinds and do the extra homework as well.

The result is that students concentrate on getting their grinds homework done, to the detriment of their schoolwork. They're tired in class, they fall behind, they blame the teachers and get even more grinds. They're wall-walking with tiredness and getting nowhere. They'd be better off doing their classwork and regular homework properly and leaving it at that. But there's a panicky culture of grinds that is throwing everyone into confusion."

It hardly warrants mentioning that part-time work in sixth year puts an even greater squeeze on students. If your exam student is complaining of too much homework, it could be time to look at the bigger picture.