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3/6/2009 Leaving Cert Exams Begin

#Leaving Cert

News, views, analysis and features on the state examinations process and system.

A COMPREHENSIVE SERIES OF ARTICLES ON THIS TOPIC

<p>In situations where admission to a course can hinge on a handful of points, the system can encourage strategic subject choice and exam-focused learning rather than broader intellectual exploration. Picture: iStock</p>

comment-analysis

What have we actually learned from five decades of the CAO?

The CAO 'change of mind' opened on Tuesday — part of a set schedule by which parents and teenagers have marked the anxious year of the Leaving Cert for five decades

<p>A reader's long list of reasons for rejecting the proposed changes include the 'flawed reform' of AACcs (additional assessment components), the use of AI (artificial intelligence), and 'forced declarations of union membership'. Picture: iStock </p>

yourview

Letters to the Editor: Teachers should reject proposed changes to the senior cycle

<p>Most of the concerns of second-level teachers centered on the introduction of Additional Assessment Components (AACs), project work for each subject to be worth a minimum of 40% of a student’s overall grade in a subject. File picture: iStock</p>

news

Teachers’ union to ballot members on Senior Cycle proposals

Royal High School

news

Leaving and Junior Cert practicals deferred due to fuel protests

Royal High School

news

ASTI calls for pause to Leaving Cert laboratory projects on health and safety grounds

Secondary teachers reject motion to refuse Leaving Cert project work after pay warning

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Secondary teachers reject motion to refuse Leaving Cert project work after pay warning

High school students doing exam in classroom

Seven deadlines and an AI dilemma: Is the new Leaving Cert fixing one problem by creating another?

Teachers back reform in principle but warn of inequality, AI misuse, and rising workload under new senior cycle

Sat, 04 Apr, 2026

Royal High School

Teachers warn Leaving Cert changes risk inequality and AI misuse

Teachers warn increased project weighting and AI risks could undermine fairness and integrity of Leaving Cert assessments

Tue, 31 Mar, 2026

Leaving Certificate results

Feeder school data is misleading and old-fashioned

Narrow framing of 'success' in education is based on a flawed understanding of how modern schools work — and how children really thrive

Mon, 16 Feb, 2026

File photo An online petition calling for the Leaving Cert to be cancelled has been signed by over 26,000 people. The current pl

Eligible students to receive extra 10 minutes in written State exams

Important step forward in 'ensuring that students with specific needs are supported in a fair, consistent, and effective way'

Tue, 27 Jan, 2026

CC COVID COMMITTEE MEETING

Schools 'ill-prepared' for Leaving Cert reforms, Oireachtas committee hears

The Oireachtas education committee also heard that schools are continuing to experience teacher shortages due to the housing crisis

Wed, 10 Dec, 2025

female construction apprentice and colleague

Secondary school curriculum 'should include access to apprenticeships'

Ibec tells Oireachtas further and higher education committee there is 'significant scope for improvement' despite growth in apprenticeships

Wed, 01 Oct, 2025

Second-level students with dyslexia need extra time in exams, warns advocacy group

Second-level students with dyslexia need extra time in exams, warns advocacy group

Dyslexic young people consistently struggle with running out of time sitting State exams

Tue, 30 Sep, 2025

Equipment delays hamper Leaving Cert drama, film, and theatre course

Equipment delays hamper Leaving Cert drama, film, and theatre course

First announced in 2022, the subject has been rolled out this year in 57 schools for the first time

Wed, 17 Sep, 2025

CAO Round Two offers over 1,200 students college places for first time

CAO Round Two offers over 1,200 students college places for first time

Students who received an offer in this round will have until 3pm on Wednesday, September 10, to accept

Mon, 08 Sep, 2025

Exam cheating rises

Number of Leaving Cert students who had results withheld due to cheating rises

155 results have been permanently withheld because of cheating, up from the 71 results initially withheld last year

Tue, 02 Sep, 2025

Stacked Coins And Piggy Bank

Your financial plan starts now: How to make most of your money when paying for college

Financial planner Karen Doyle offers valuable advice to students ahead of their entry to third-level education. She talks with Laurie O’Flynn

Fri, 29 Aug, 2025

ieExplains: How does the CAO's random selection process work?

ieExplains: How does the CAO's random selection process work?

Admission for the vast amount of college courses is based on exam results and CAO points that are awarded for different Leaving Cert grades.

Thu, 28 Aug, 2025

A quick guide to navigating CAO offers

A quick guide to navigating CAO offers

Laurie O’Flynn offers answers to the most frequently asked questions by applicants to the Central Applications Office every year

Thu, 28 Aug, 2025

eating apple

CAO: Important dates for offers, appeals and rechecks

Students are advised to note that there are only two days to accept offers from Round Two onwards

Thu, 28 Aug, 2025

Jess Casey: It goes without saying that the CAO process can be cruel

Jess Casey: It goes without saying that the CAO process can be cruel

Despite lower grade inflation, demand for college places pushed CAO points higher in 2025, leaving many students disappointed

Wed, 27 Aug, 2025

Students, take time to fully assess CAO round one offers

Students, take time to fully assess CAO round one offers

Career guidance experts outline the choices open to students in relation to this year’s CAO first round offers

Wed, 27 Aug, 2025

CAO offers: Did the points for your course go up? See all the first-round cut-offs

CAO offers: Did the points for your course go up? See all the first-round cut-offs

Here, you can use the Irish Examiner's CAO interactive to find the latest points information for both Level 8 and Level 7/6 courses

Wed, 27 Aug, 2025

CAO offers: Almost half of students miss out on first choice as course points rise

CAO offers: Almost half of students miss out on first choice as course points rise

CAO data shows that entry to 25 courses has been determined by random selection

Wed, 27 Aug, 2025

CAO offers: What to do if you miss out on your top choice

CAO offers: What to do if you miss out on your top choice

Guidance counsellor David Drury advises students that now is the right time to stop and reflect on their choices. He talks to Jess Casey, Education Correspondent

Wed, 27 Aug, 2025

CAO offers: Be ready to consider Plan B if things don’t go your way

CAO offers: Be ready to consider Plan B if things don’t go your way

Guidance counsellors advise that many people have enjoyed hugely success careers having taken up courses further down their CAO list of preferences

Wed, 27 Aug, 2025

Group of cheerful students

Your CAO questions answered: What students and parents need to know

Over 83,000 students applied to the CAO this year as Leaving Cert results and college offers collide in a record-breaking admissions season

Wed, 27 Aug, 2025

Bogus insurance claims

Accommodation fraud jumps 22% as gardaí warn students of rental scams

It comes following Friday’s Leaving Certificate results and this week’s third-level CAO offers

Sun, 24 Aug, 2025

Woman looking at houses and flats in the window of an estate agent in London, UK

S Mick Clifford: No country for young people if housing crisis is not fixed

Today’s school leavers should be better equipped that those who went before to go out in the world and make the most if it. However, inequality is draining hope

Sat, 23 Aug, 2025

'Younger Kyle would be proud': Cork student overcomes adversity to celebrate Leaving Cert success

'Younger Kyle would be proud': Cork student overcomes adversity to celebrate Leaving Cert success

Cork student Kyle O’Connell reflects on overcoming stereotypes, financial struggles, and identity challenges to achieve Leaving Cert success

Sat, 23 Aug, 2025

Gareth O'Callaghan: It's the learning that changes your life, not the results

Gareth O'Callaghan: It's the learning that changes your life, not the results

The revamp of the Leaving Cert is unworkable because of AI, writes Gareth O'Callaghan

Sat, 23 Aug, 2025

Cork student earns eight H1s in Leaving Cert and sets sights on medicine at UCC

Cork student earns eight H1s in Leaving Cert and sets sights on medicine at UCC

Cork student Fiachra Wall achieved eight H1s in the Leaving Cert and hopes to study medicine at UCC next year

Fri, 22 Aug, 2025

Girl Pointing At Test Result While Standing With Students

'The Leaving Cert is one of those things that always works out'

Students urged to 'logically process' exam results

Fri, 22 Aug, 2025

Diary of a Gen Z Student: Why the Leaving Cert results aren’t the be-all, end-all

Diary of a Gen Z Student: Why the Leaving Cert results aren’t the be-all, end-all

It’s normal for results day not to pan out the way you might have envisioned it

Fri, 22 Aug, 2025

'I flushed my Leaving Cert results down the toilet... I felt I’d let myself down'

'I flushed my Leaving Cert results down the toilet... I felt I’d let myself down'

Cork entrepreneur Karl Fitzpatrick has moved on to success after being disappointed by his Leaving Cert results, and he encourages students not to let their exams define them

Fri, 22 Aug, 2025

Ten students at Cork school achieve maximum 625 Leaving Cert points

Ten students at Cork school achieve maximum 625 Leaving Cert points

Christian Brothers College in Cork celebrates Leaving Cert results as ten students achieve maximum points and multiple H1 grades

Fri, 22 Aug, 2025

Leaving Cert 2025: Everything you need to know about this year's results

Leaving Cert 2025: Everything you need to know about this year's results

Schools have been asked to make arrangements to support the students receiving results today

Fri, 22 Aug, 2025

The Mick Clifford Podcast: What do the Leaving Cert results mean in today’s world?

The Mick Clifford Podcast: What do the Leaving Cert results mean in today’s world?

Education correspondent Jess Casey is this week’s guest on the podcast

Listen | Fri, 22 Aug, 2025

More than half of Leaving Certificate grades bumped upwards this year

More than half of Leaving Certificate grades bumped upwards this year

Overall, the marks on average in 2025 are expected to be 5.9% higher than the overall marks issued in 2019, the last year the Leaving Cert exams ran as normal

Fri, 22 Aug, 2025

Leaving Cert 2025 marks the slow return to grade normality

Leaving Cert 2025 marks the slow return to grade normality

While normality has resumed in almost every other aspect of life post covid, it is taking a little longer when it comes to tackling grade inflation

Fri, 22 Aug, 2025

Parents in Youghal campaign for new type of school for autistic children

Parents in Youghal campaign for new type of school for autistic children

Bridging the Gap Youghal estimates there are almost 100 pupils attending autism classes in primary schools across the East Cork and West Waterford region

Tue, 12 Aug, 2025

Universities to halve points needed from HPAT assessment to study medicine

Universities to halve points needed from HPAT assessment to study medicine

Leaving Cert scores above 550 will also no longer be moderated from 2027

Fri, 18 Jul, 2025

High school students writing an exam in the classroom.

Beyond the exam hall: Reclaiming the purpose of Irish education

The proliferation and prominence of private grind schools has put Leaving Cert points as the ultimate arbiter of a student's potential and future, and shifted the emphasis away from nurturing the wellbeing and broader development of the student

Tue, 08 Jul, 2025

Almost 6,000 applicants to receive early round CAO offers

Almost 6,000 applicants to receive early round CAO offers

The Round A offers are for mature applicants and deferred applicants, as well as applicants who have completed an access course, or those who may be required to make visa arrangements

Fri, 04 Jul, 2025

Michael Moynihan: Can you pass a Leaving Cert exam about Cork?

Michael Moynihan: Can you pass a Leaving Cert exam about Cork?

Cork Studies joins the Leaving Cert — in theory at least — with hilarious sample questions only true Corkonians could answer

Thu, 19 Jun, 2025

'It was an emotional moment': Students complete Ireland's first Leaving Cert Ukrainian exam

'It was an emotional moment': Students complete Ireland's first Leaving Cert Ukrainian exam

Thousands of students across Ireland have made history by sitting the first Leaving Certificate exam in Ukrainian which has joined the list of non-curricular languages tested in State exams

Mon, 16 Jun, 2025

'Accessible' Leaving Cert history exam will have left some students 'bitterly disappointed'

'Accessible' Leaving Cert history exam will have left some students 'bitterly disappointed'

overall, Teachers though it was 'a good paper' for students

Wed, 11 Jun, 2025

Exam cheating rises

Tough French comprehension exam challenges Leaving Cert students

Teachers say higher-level candidates needed strong vocabulary and careful reading, while writing topics offered broad appeal

Wed, 11 Jun, 2025

Glowing DNA Helix (Deoxyribonucleic Acid) concept gene/genome isolated on black background.

Leaving Cert students get 'really nice and well laid out' biology exam

Exams continued on Tuesday afternoon with 'fair' and 'student-centered' papers that would have been well received

Tue, 10 Jun, 2025

Rory Gallagher and ‘Hurlamaboc’ feature on well-received Leaving Cert Irish paper

Rory Gallagher and ‘Hurlamaboc’ feature on well-received Leaving Cert Irish paper

Students praised the accessible texts, straightforward questions, and welcome appearance of the long-anticipated short story

Tue, 10 Jun, 2025