Leaving Certificate

A COMPREHENSIVE SERIES OF ARTICLES ON THIS TOPIC

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Letters to the Editor: Time for Leaving Cert reform

One reader writes in to say that with the amount of time students will spend on written assessments over the coming days, it's little wonder that they complain about the volume of information they have to retain

<p>Cork Life Centre is based in Sunday's Well, Cork. </p>

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Cork Life Centre ‘deeply disappointed’ with review of out-of-school education system

<p>Education Minister Norma Foley listens to INTO general secretary John Boyle speaking to her and delegates at the union's annual Congress in Killarney. Picture: Moya Nolan</p>

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Teachers vote against prospect of grading their own students

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English teachers fear planned Leaving Cert changes will 'cut the heart' out of subject

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Leaving Cert 2022: No 'cliff edge' for grades, promises minister

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Minister confirms students to sit traditional Leaving Cert exams

'A huge retrograde step': Opposition TDs criticise plan to hold traditional Leaving Cert exams

Sinn Féin's Pearse Doherty described the staging of a traditional Leaving Cert in 2022 as 'absolutely the wrong decision'

Tue, 01 Feb, 2022

Cabinet to approve traditional Leaving Cert exams today

The Government is set to reject hybrid model in favour of a straightforward examination 'with some element of choice'

Tue, 01 Feb, 2022

Irish Teacher: Why I've changed my mind about the hybrid model for the Leaving Cert

Jennifer Horgan explains why we need to dig deeper to find the best solution for the students of Ireland

Fri, 14 Jan, 2022

Students calling for hybrid Leaving Cert

'This year's cohort facing disruption in and out of the classroom'

Thu, 13 Jan, 2022

Calculated grades sees 64% fall in number of Leaving Certificate repeaters

The total number of teachers has risen by over 7,000 since 2016, according to the report published by the Department of Education

Tue, 28 Dec, 2021

Irish Teacher: The Leaving Cert just isn't fair

Jennifer Horgan calls for reform to the Irish exam system. We have to think about all our students, especially our most vulnerable.

Thu, 16 Sep, 2021

Jess Casey: Unprecedented circumstances shaped Leaving Cert 2021

The Irish Examiner's Education Correspondent looks back at the evolution of Ireland's unique hybrid secondary exam system

Fri, 03 Sep, 2021

File photo THIS YEARÕS POSTPONED Leaving Certificate examinations get underway later today, with just 2,569 students set to sit

Concerns raised about Chinese language Leaving Cert exam

The written exam is limited to simplified Chinese, primarily used in mainland China, Malaysia, and Singapore, and excludes traditional Chinese, used in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau

Tue, 10 Aug, 2021

Cancelled exams see doubling of legal actions against Department of Education

No challenges were taken relating to the Leaving Cert during 2019, but 67 such cases were filed in 2020.

Wed, 28 Jul, 2021

Leaving Cert religious education paper asks students to consider moral decision-making

The question was both 'interesting and current', although questions on the reliability of evidence for the existence of Jesus might have been demanding.

Fri, 25 Jun, 2021

Leaving Certificate exams finally bring an end to a senior cycle like no other

Approximately 90% of students will sit at least one exam, with the majority opting for both exams and accredited grades in all subjects

Wed, 09 Jun, 2021

Letters to the Editor: Students being left behind over delay in Leaving Cert results

Third-level place abroad will have to be deferred

Fri, 04 Jun, 2021

FILE PHOTO Minister for Education Norma Foley has told the INTO annual conference that the Government is unlikely to revise its

Foley: Moves in place to avoid repeat of grades error

The Minister of Education says new mechanisms have been put in place to ensure errors in accredited grades will not be repeated this year.

Wed, 19 May, 2021

FILE PHOTO Cabinet will hear from Minister for Education Norma Foley this morning, on the negotiations with the INTO and ASTI re

Now is the ideal time to rethink Leaving Cert, says Foley

The education minister said it is time to 'look at a variety of pathways for students' and remove the stress of a senior cycle which rests entirely on a final exam

Wed, 14 Apr, 2021

Teachers back review of junior cycle before further Leaving Certificate reforms

The externally-assessed Leaving Certificate has high levels of public trust and is essential for the maintenance of high educational standards, the ASTI president has said

Tue, 06 Apr, 2021

Harris plans to ‘overhaul’ CAO system next year

The Minister for Higher Education also said the Covid-19 pandemic taught him it was possible “not to have a Leaving Cert examination and for the sky not to fall in.”

Sat, 20 Mar, 2021

Alison O'Connor: Let the pandemic's silver lining be Leaving Cert reform

No matter how obdurate you've been for years, a pandemic arrived and brought sweeping changes, writes Alison O'Connor

Fri, 19 Feb, 2021

Elaine Loughlin: Government finally realises normal Leaving Cert may not be possible

The start of February marks an important day on the Leaving Certificate calendar. The CAO deadline of February 1 has come and gone and yet students still have no idea as to whether they will be sitting a traditional State exam at all this year.

Tue, 02 Feb, 2021

FILE PHOTO Teacher's Unions are due to have talks with the Department of Education this morning, following last night's dramatic

Education Minister unable to say if Leaving Cert will go ahead

Norma Foley has refused to say when she will make a decision on the State exams

Fri, 15 Jan, 2021

INTO: Decision to reopen specialised schools 'rushed and reckless'

Teacher representatives say there has not been enough time to prepare.

Wed, 06 Jan, 2021

Method to estimate Leaving Cert grades did not discriminate against schools, court told

Counsel said the standardisation process used to assess and award calculated A-Level grades in Scotland and England this year came in for much criticism.

Thu, 10 Dec, 2020

Almost 3,000 students prepare to sit Leaving Cert exams from tomorrow

The Leaving Cert exams, which were cancelled for thousands of students this summer due to health and safety concerns during the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, are set to begin tomorrow.

Sun, 15 Nov, 2020

File Photo Leaving Cert Exams Begin This Wednesday.

Company linked to Leaving Cert errors paid €30k more than previously reported

Spending on the contract so far is €33,000 more than reported last week

Thu, 08 Oct, 2020

Jess Casey: Has the Leaving Cert calculated grades system failed the integrity test?

Do the two known errors with the Leaving Cert calculated grades process call into question the integrity of a system the Department of Education promised would be accurate and fair? The full extent of the flaws in the system will only really be ...

Thu, 01 Oct, 2020

School principals demand answers on botched Leaving Cert results

School principals have called on the Department of Education to clarify the exact extent and consequences of the errors uncovered in this year's Leaving Cert calculated grades

Wed, 30 Sep, 2020

Teenage Boy Disappointed With Exam Results

Three separate challenges to Leaving Cert grade standardisation

When all three cases were mentioned before Mr Justice Charles Meenan today, he was asked to fix a hearing date in late October

Wed, 23 Sep, 2020

Cork Leaving Cert student withdraws grade standardisation challenge after getting UCC place

The judge will treat another case by Aine Finnegan as the lead case addressing issues with the 2020 Leaving Cert process

Wed, 23 Sep, 2020

Relief mixed with disappointment as the class of 2020 gets Leaving Cert results

Close to 17% of all grades were downgraded and a further 2,500 weren’t issued

Mon, 07 Sep, 2020

Leaving Cert transparency needed after Scotland downgrades 125k results using similar system

Just as with Irish Leaving Cert students, Scottish students also had their final exams cancelled for the first time due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and saw an alternative grading system introduced.

Tue, 11 Aug, 2020

Here's how students have cheated in State exams

This year, 71 students who sat the Leaving Certificate have not been given their results over fears that they have cheated.

Mon, 30 Sep, 2019

Leaving Cert exam upgrades - Lesson to learn

The number of upgrades in marks awarded to Leaving Certificate candidates has more than doubled this year,compared to last.

Thu, 19 Sep, 2019

'No big surprises' in Leaving Cert business and art papers

Students were very happy with both the Leaving Cert business and art papers, which featured a wide choice of questions and “no big surprises".

Thu, 13 Jun, 2019

New Leaving Cert appeals process announced following student's High Court case

A number of significant changes have been made to the Leaving Certificate appeals process following a recent landmark High Court case taken by student Rebecca Carter.

Thu, 01 Nov, 2018

Judge criticises 'highly unfair' exam appeal system as Rebecca Carter awarded court costs

Student Rebecca Carter, who won her High Court case aimed at getting a marking mistake fixed in time for her to go to university got more good news today when she found out she had been awarded the legal costs of the action.

Wed, 03 Oct, 2018

Rich kids start halfway down the track of our college points race

I overheard them on Tuesday as they hunched over their shopping, faces constricted with the effort of comparing one grind school, which charges about €7,295 a year to another, which charges €6,900 a year.

Thu, 16 Aug, 2018

Applied maths adds up for students as Leaving Cert exams finish

Leaving Certificate 2018 ended much as it started, with warm weather and a fairly good reception for the day’s papers.

Sat, 23 Jun, 2018

Exams marked by 600 non-teachers

More than 600 non-teachers corrected Junior and Leaving Certificate exams in the last five years, the State Examinations Commission (SEC) has admitted.

Sat, 23 Jun, 2018

Ó Ríordáin: Exam marking controversy a 'crisis of the Governments own making'

Latest: Labour spokesperson on Education, Aodhán Ó Ríordáin has said that the current controversy regarding examination marking is a crisis of the governments own making.

Fri, 22 Jun, 2018

‘Français, je t’aime?’ 24,000 Leaving Cert students show off their language skills

Close to 24,000 Leaving Certificate students got to show off their French language skills yesterday morning.

Thu, 14 Jun, 2018

Maths ends the week for Junior Cert students

The first of two maths papers for most Junior Certificate students brought an end to the first week of exams.

Sat, 09 Jun, 2018

Higher-level maths paper deemed fair as record number of students take it

There were a record number of students entered again for the higher-level Leaving Certificate maths.

Sat, 09 Jun, 2018

Leaving Cert: Plenty of Larkin about for English students as standard proves pleasing

The higher-level English paper two for Leaving Certificate students was deemed fair and appropriately challenging by one teacher yesterday evening.

Fri, 08 Jun, 2018

Moves to assess own pupils ‘will be resisted’

Teachers have warned that any attempt to introduce assessment of students by their teachers as part of reform of the Leaving Certificate will be strenuously resisted.

Thu, 05 Apr, 2018

Council to examine alternatives to Leaving Cert exam assessment

Experts are beginning a review of the Leaving Cert today.

Tue, 20 Feb, 2018