Points race eases as numbers sitting Leaving plummets

STUDENTS have been given a boost before the Leaving Certificate exams, which start next week.

With the lowest number of Leaving Cert entrants in 20 years, students reportedly have a better chance of securing places on their favourite courses, teachers said yesterday.

Both Junior and Leaving Cert exams start on Wednesday next.

The Teachers’ Union of Ireland (TUI) yesterday described the situation in the Leaving Cert this year as a unique opportunity for Third-Level hopefuls.

The State Examinations Commission has received notice of 52,021 people taking this year’s Leaving Certificate, down slightly from last year but significantly lower compared with a peak of 68,500 in 1995.

“They should remember that the Leaving Certificate points race is based on the number of students applying for particular courses,” said TUI president Tim O’Meara.

“If the overall numbers taking the exam are down, this presents students with a better chance of securing their course in particular areas,” he said.

He said this should act as an extra incentive to students as they enter the last days of study before the exams begin.

Although there were claims that the points race for college places had finished, the results required for each course will still depend on the demand for places and more popular courses could see points requirements rise in August.

However, a drop in appeals of Leaving Certificate grades from about 11,500 in 2005 to 9,062 last year suggests that far more students may have received an offer on one of their preferred courses.

SEC figures also show that a little more than 2,000 of this year’s Leaving Certificate candidates are repeating the exams, down from almost 8,000 in 1995.

The number of students lined up to take the Leaving Certificate Applied this year is 3,132, also down very slightly on last year. This option gives students an opportunity to receive a school-leaving qualification without the academic pressures of the established exams, with subjects including English and communication, engineering, crafts and design, hotel catering and tourism, graphics and construction studies.

Mr O’Meara suggested the Department of Education should consider providing courses to further progress the qualifications of students who have completed Post Leaving Certificate, Youthreach and other courses.

“We expect that student numbers will rise sharply again in the coming years, so there is now a window of opportunity to progress mature students or those who would not normally have progressed beyond a certain stage to a higher level of educational attainment,” said Mr O’Meara.

The 57,883 students registered to begin the Junior Certificate next week is about 400 fewer than last year’s candidate numbers.