Leaving Cert Results: Students apply themselves to get top results

Some of the biggest exam celebrations this week were at Scoil Bernadette in Cork where 13 students collected their Leaving Certificate Applied results.

The special school on the grounds of the Cope Foundation on the city’s northside hosted students and their family members who had been waiting since June to see how they had done.

Niamh Cafferkey admitted to being a bit nervous beforehand, but she was “very happy and so glad” after getting her results.

The 18-year-old from Whitechurch was accompanied by her parents and sister to the school on Wednesday morning.

“It’s a tremendous achievement for a person with Down syndrome and we are extremely proud of Niamh. We are also very thankful to the staff in Scoil Bernadette for the opportunities given to Niamh over the years and the way they nurtured her and brought out her potential,” said proud father, Odran.

Douglas man Michael Hanover was also delighted with his LCA results, but particularly with how he did in IT, his big area of interest. He plans to attend Cope Foundation’s Doras training service for people with a mild intellectual disability from next month, and hopes to further develop his IT skills and follow in his dad’s footsteps.

“We are really chuffed with Michael’s results, he put a lot of work in and he proved himself. He is a great young man and a great son, we are very proud,” said his mother Sue.

Scoil Bernadette principal Ita Teegan congratulated the class of 2015, saying this year’s fantastic results were all well deserved.

“They reflect the hard work put in by all the students over the last two years and everyone in Scoil Bernadette is extremely proud of them,” she said.

Leaving Certificate Applied is a programme which prepares students for adult and working life, with exams in June one of the various assessments undertaken across two years.

The subjects examined include English and communication, maths applications, social education, Irish, modern European languages.

Students also take subjects from a choice of specialisms, such as agriculture/horticulture, childcare/community care, graphics and construction studies, craft and design engineering, hair and beauty, information and communication technology, and active leisure studies.