‘I was close in Hebrew’: Eoin breaks record with 27 subjects

A SECONDARY school teacher is celebrating breaking the national record for the number of Leaving Certificate subjects passed in a single year, after he received successful results in 27 separate exams and honours in 17 of them.

Co Waterford man Eoin Jackson broke the previous highest record of 20 grade D or higher results he set in 1994 when he successfully completed 27 of 30 subjects in this year’s state exams.

During the gruelling attempt — which included 20 higher level and 10 ordinary level tests — Mr Jackson managed to study native speaking Swedish through the Google translator programme.

Outside of the more usual subjects, the 35-year-old also sat exams in Japanese, Russian, Italian, construction, religious studies, all three science subjects, accountancy, applied maths and Hebrew studies.

However, despite the success of passing 27 subjects — 17 of which he received honours in — Mr Jackson said he was disappointed to have fallen at the final hurdle in accountancy, Hebrew studies and applied maths.

“The one I’m most annoyed about is Hebrew studies, because I came so close. Half of the exam is about Jewish culture but I spent more time learning Hebrew.

“If I had one more day I could have passed that subject, I was so close,” he explained.

Mr Jackson took on the gruelling ordeal in an attempt to highlight the work taking place at the Xlc Project voluntary school he helps to run in Co Waterford.

Since 1998 approximately 700 students have completed Junior Certificate and Leaving Certificate courses at the school, which does not receive mainstream funding.

This year almost 80 Xlc Project students sat the Leaving Certificate, the vast majority of which passed the exam.