College entry standards set to be higher

Entry requirements for hundreds of college courses will be higher than ever on Monday, as hundreds more students than last year have scored top Leaving Certificate points.

The 43,968 Leaving Certificate students who have applied to the CAO are 800 fewer than last year.

However, the 5,140 students with at least 500 points — out of a maximum 600 before the maths bonus points are counted — are an increase of 350 on last year, when a smaller improvement was a factor in points going up on hundreds of level 8 (honours bachelor) degrees.