Making the Grade explores the history, people, music and stories of the local centre exams which have been held by the Royal Irish Academy of Music from small beginnings in 1894, when just a handful of students sat the exams, to today, when around 42,000 students a year aim for certificates in dozens of musical instruments and grades. Over the past 120 years this has truly become an Irish institution and the focal point of music education in Ireland.

This is a Rockfinch production for RTÉ lyric fm funded by the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland with the television licence fee.

Broadcast on RTÉ lyric fm on Friday 6 February 2015 at 7 pm.

You can listen back to the programme on the RTÉ lyric fm soundcloud account: https://soundcloud.com/the-lyric-feature/making-the-grade