Colman Noctor: Let's keep the Leaving Cert results in perspective

Just because you miss a turn on our satellite navigation system, your destination doesn’t change

Support: There is no value in chastising someone for not working hard enough and the benefit of saying ‘I told you so’ is non-existent

I have written many times about the shortcomings of the Leaving Cert structure and how I believe it is an archaic mechanism for assessing student learning. But for now, I will park that discussion and deal with how best to navigate the exam results.

Often adults will trot out their accounts of how poorly they did in their Leaving Cert only to go on to have successful careers at this time of year. While this is undoubtedly well intended, it has little impact on the anxious student who sees the results day differently because they are in the middle of it. To many, the Leaving Certificate is ‘the be all and end all’ and will decide how their lives will be determined.