Leaving Cert: Cork student 'over the moon' with eight H1s

Alex Lynch received 8 H1's on his Leaving Certificate at Christian Brothers College, Cork. Picture: Howard Crowdy

One Cork student is “over the moon” after receiving eight H1s this Friday.

Alex Lynch from Cobh received top marks in every Leaving Cert subject he took; English, Irish, Maths, French, Biology, Chemistry, Economics, and Accounting.

He opted for both accredited grades, and to sit every exam.

Alex credits his success to his teachers, and to hard work. He wants to go on to study medicine and is hoping to receive an offer of a college place next week.

“With the year that it was, with Covid, I mean there was the opportunity to slip but the teachers did everything really.

“We had online sessions at all hours of the day to keep us going, and a lot of hard work went into it, and thankfully it paid off.” 

'Unnerving'

There was a lot of disruption this year, he added. 

“It was a bit unnerving at times because you were hearing different reports.

"Some people were saying the exams would be cancelled, some people were saying it would just be predicted grades, some people were saying it could be a hybrid model.” 

“It was uncomfortable at times, but once we got a bit of clarity, it was full steam ahead.” 

A student at Christian Brothers College, Cork, Alex was among a significant number of students at the school to receive top marks.

Nine students received 625 points, and 16 students received more than 600 points.

In higher-level Maths, 35 students at the school received H1s, and a further 17 students received a H1 in Applied Maths.