Exam success brings its own pressures

AS students perform better and better in the Leaving Certificate exams, the points threshold for some courses continues to rise. In a first-past-the-post competition like this, it cannot be otherwise.

College places will be offered on Monday through the Central Applications Office and 47,000 of the students who got their exam results on Wednesday hope to continue their education in a third-level institution and secure a place on one of the 1,400 courses available. The level of achievement continues to impress as 15 people secured 600 points — this means they got six higher-level A1s — but the number on 550 points or more has passed 3% for the first time. It has reached 1,777, more than 200 higher than a year ago.

By any criteria these are impressive figures, but they should not lead to complacency. The task of ensuring that our education system and its outcomes are on a par with the best international standards is an unending and often thankless one. That such a very high proportion of students, one of the very highest in Europe, go on to third-level imposes it own pressures on an already stretched system.