SEC refusing to let student rushed to hospital with appendicitis to re-sit exam

Catherine Doyle, the mother of the Leaving Cert student who left his exam in agony, has called on the SEC to revise its rules around re-sitting exams. Picture: Mark Stedman/RollingNews.ie

A Leaving Cert student, who was forced to leave an exam this week in agony with appendicitis before being rushed to hospital, has been denied access to the deferred exams next month.

Catherine Doyle, Kildare, has called on the State Examinations Commission (SEC) to revise its rules around medical emergencies after she said her son was rushed to hospital on Wednesday afternoon after he attempted to sit the history exam.

The SEC is due to hold a deferred set of exams in July for students affected by Covid-19, bereavement, accidents, or injuries. An appendectomy is one of the listed examples as one of the conditions that might arise. 

Leaving Certificate students Vaughan Ryan, Adam Twomey, and Cian Sisk O'Mahony after the German paper at Presentation Brothers College, Cork. Pictures: Denis Minihane.

However, it refused his request on the basis that he had already begun the exam before he was forced to leave.

When her son was in pain after his French exam that morning, Ms Doyle told the Irish Examiner she looked up whether he could apply to sit the deferred exams next month. 

“He came home at lunchtime, literally doubled over in pain and red in the face. I did look it up and it said even if you wanted a deferral, you mightn’t get it so he said he wanted to try the exam. 

“I dropped him up at school and less than an hour later he rang me and said, ‘I can't do it, I have to leave'. 

"History is his favourite subject, he was hoping to do well in it, so I knew he was bad if he wanted to leave. 

“He only got to do a couple of pages for the history exam so he'd probably be lucky to pass. 

Conor Madden (left) and Tim Ryan following their German exam at Presentation Brothers College.

"He probably would have gotten the deferral if he had applied for it, but he didn't know he had appendicitis before the exam. 

"He just knew he was in pain so we gave him painkillers and we were hoping to just soldier on. 

“It might have ended up that it was nothing, so it was very hard for him to make that decision."

Her son is currently still in hospital and hoping to recover enough to return to sit two more exams next week.

“He will obviously accept the decision, but it just seems so unfair. If he hadn't left, his appendix could have ruptured, and it could have been even more serious.” 

In its guidelines for schools, the SEC said the deferred exams are “not second chance examinations and are not available once a candidate has commenced.” 

Ms Doyle said she accepts that the rule is listed in “black and white” by the SEC.

Stephen O'Mahony and Rocco Barry with principal David Barry after the German paper at Presentation Brothers College.

“We didn't have time in between the exams to go down and get assessed by a doctor. I’d understand the reasoning if it was someone who saw the exam and said, ‘Oh I don’t like the look of that, I'll say I'm sick and resit it’ but if you have to have surgery and you have documentation from a hospital, it's genuine.” 

A spokesperson said the SEC is working with schools on all applications for exam deferrals.

"The SEC acknowledges that candidates may not always take their examinations at a time that is optimal for them," they said. 

"Each year, significant and difficult issues arise during the examinations. It is important that these be approached in a humane and consistent way and with due regard to issues of equity and fairness. The SEC can attest that it is taking this approach in the instant case but for obvious reasons it is not appropriate to comment further at this time."

Manageable paper

Meanwhile, the State examinations continued yesterday, with Leaving Cert students examined in German and construction studies, while Junior Cert students were examined in Jewish studies, music, engineering, and the classics. Friday morning's German Leaving Cert exam was “manageable and very accessible”, according to Pamela Conway, subject representative with the Association of Secondary Teachers in Ireland (ASTI). 

Junior Cert music also hit the right note, examined for the first time since the course was revised. 

“Overall a very balanced common level paper which suited the needs of students of all abilities,” said Aoife Balfe, ASTI subject representative. 

Likewise, the first Junior cycle engineering written examination seen as “a fair, challenging, and enjoyable test” to students, said Donal Cremin, ASTI subject representative.