Leaving Cert results: Number taking higher papers up 3.2%

Big jumps in the numbers taking higher level papers across most subjects have resulted almost directly from changes to the college entry points system.

In a trend which could say much about the impact of the points system which the reforms are trying to minimise, there is an average rise of 3.2% in the number of students taking a subject at higher level.

With the total number of students getting results in the main Leaving Certificate up a mere 68 — just one-tenth of 1% — to 55,770, those increases are statistically very significant.