Q&A: What does the high court ruling mean for the Leaving Cert?

This ruling is expected to have immediate implications for ten other students who are in the same position as Mr Burke, i.e. they are being homeschooled by a relative.

Q: What's happening now with the Leaving Cert? 

A: Elijah Burke, a Leaving Cert student from Mayo who has been homeschooled by his mother, has won his case against the Minister for Education in the High Court. Mr Burke had claimed the exclusion of students homeschooled by a parent or relative breached his rights. While the Department of Education had argued it was not possible to give him a calculated grade due to an absence of credible evidence from an appropriate source, Justice Charles Meehan ruled that this was “irrational, unreasonable, and unlawful.” A system was put in place for conflicts of interest in schools, but this process wasn't extended for homeschooled students.