System change - Junior Cert

YESTERDAY was a momentous day for so many of the more than 60,000 students who received their Junior Certificate results.

It was also an historic day as, notwithstanding teacher union difficulties, this is the last year that students will undergo the Junior Cert in its current format.

It is being replaced by a Junior Cycle Profile of Achievement which will recognise a much wider set of student achievements and is not before time.

The aim of the JCPA is to shift the focus from a single set of exams sat in June, where students have to write for up to five hours, to the actual learning process.

Those students nervous about the new system can take comfort from the fact that many of the world’s geniuses — among them Albert Einstein and Charles Darwin — failed written exams but later set the world alight.

The new Junior Cycle will, hopefully, give students who may buckle under the pressure of a single exam the chance to shine and show their true worth.