Kilkenny secondary school undertakes Junior Certificate alternative
A secondary-school principal does not want his Junior Cert students to be stressed, and have their mental health suffer, with the State exam looming over them for the entire summer.
Up to 160 students at the all girls Presentation Secondary School in Kilkenny city will be going ahead with their own exams and assessments rather than waiting until September.
Education Minister Joe McHugh has cancelled Junior Cert June exams and said they will be replaced with school-based assessments, set by the State Examinations Commission (SEC), in the autumn.
Principal Shane Hallahan explained that following detailed consultation with staff, engagement with the school’s board of management, respected colleagues in other schools and industry experts, they have set up an alternative assessment system for the exam class.
The move is the second of its kind, as Coláiste Bhaile Chláir pupils based in ClareGalway, will sit exams set by their own teachers next month and their grades will be recorded in the Junior Cycle Profile of Achievement (JCPA),which has replaced the Junior Cert.
The new format for the exam at the school will mean the Junior Cert students will have 40% of their average grade results based on their Christmas exams, mocks, projects and other assessments, 20% engagement with teachers online since the lockdown, 30% for the online exams to be held at the end of next month with the remaining 10% to be yet decided.
Mr Hallahan said: “The wellbeing of (our students) is our highest priority and it will continue to be until this (pandemic) passes. I don’t want my students to be under extreme stress over the Summer period.
#“The current circumstances are difficult and stressful for students especially being separated from their peers as they try to prepare. I think we have to be conscious that so many young people have worked so hard for this.
“It is in our power to give certainty to the Junior Certificate students.
“Due to the announcement of the Education Minister that there will be no certificate given by the Department and leaving it to schools themselves to certify the exams, (we felt immediate action needed to be taken).
“We have been thinking about this for a while and then the move by the school in ClareGalway of doing something similar to ourselves, the more appealing to bring the exams forward became.
“We believe in the quality and professionalism of our teachers to award grades based on clearly defined criteria and using work already completed to date. As of now do not know when we will be able to return and what format that school will take.
“Starting the new school year with exams for students will not serve any value to our school community. It is more important than ever for our students in (the) Presentation to focus on their health and wellbeing.
“We do not wish to see students over the summer months caught up inside preparing for exams, worrying about when they might go ahead, if they go ahead. There is already huge stress in households and we wish to try and alleviate this in some way.
“I felt as a parent and as a principal I couldn’t stand over our students feeling that they would have to work over the Summer. Many parents said there was a huge amount of stress with many of the students saying they had to study through the Summer months (no matter what). These are 15 and 16-year-old girls - which would have been crazy.”
Mr Hallahan explained that the online exam will devised by the teachers of each subject and will be the same for all classes.
He said that when school returns in the new academic year that he wants students start afresh. “Looking forward to the next chapter in their lives. While distance learning is working relatively successfully, it is not the same as face-to-face contact with your teacher.
“We believe that our approach will help to keep third year students focussed and engaged for these final six weeks of school term. We’ll be having a presentation to the students in September and a big party.”
Mr Hallahan explained that an online meeting with staff took place on Tuesday and that they gave an unanimous backing of the plan.
The principal added that if any student wanted to sit the SEC exams in the autumn, they would be willingly facilitated.
The majority of the Junior students, bar one, will be going into Transition Year in September.
The overall grade awarded will be added to the 100% already awarded for oral, practical and project work to determine overall final grade. The overall final grade will appear on the JCPA.
