Leaving Cert should be renamed, says Dempsey

THE LEAVING Cert should be renamed the Senior Cert to more accurately reflect its role for young people, Education Minister Noel Dempsey said yesterday.

“Leaving Cert is a name that is obsolete,” he said. “We should change it to something like the Senior Cert to get the message across that this is only one signpost, one milestone on a person’s road of lifelong learning.”

Launching the National Parents Council (NPC) exam helpline, Mr Dempsey also said the Leaving Cert should not be seen by students as the “be all and end all”.

He advised students not to panic if they do not get the results they expect tomorrow.

“People feel this is their one chance, the one start they will get, but there are so many courses available which everyone should be aware of,” he said.

“There is so much on offer it makes for a complex landscape which is why the helpline is so important.”

The lines are staffed by professional guidance counsellors who will be on hand to offer advice and support to students.

They will be open from 8am to 10pm from August 18-20 and from August 23-27. The freephone number is 1800 265 165.

Eleanor Petrie, president of the NPC (post primary), echoed Mr Dempsey’s advice and said it was important for students not to panic. “Everyone awaiting results should stay calm,” she said. “We know it is a nail-biting time but if students do not get the results they need they should sit down with their parents and teachers and talk through every possibility available to them.”

For the first time the NPC has also set up a website, www.leavingcerthelpline.ie, to provide additional advice for students.

Ms Petrie also called for an end to the “cost-driven” concentration on core subjects. She said the cost of grinds, which can reach up to €35 for a 30 minute session, was getting out of control.

“Some 70% of Leaving Cert students took grinds,” she said. “There should not be this need for a scramble at the last minute.”