Minister for Education Norma Foley has said there will be “no cliff edge” for grades in next year’s Leaving Certificate.
The Fianna Fáil TD said “very similar” accommodations will be made for the Leaving Cert class of 2023 that were made for this year’s students due to the disruption to their schooling by the pandemic.
“For the class of 2023 I can confirm today that accommodations will be made for them in the exam papers, very similar to the accommodations that were announced in August of 2021,” Ms Foley said.
“That’s an acknowledgement that those students have experienced challenges too, not on a par to the class of '22 but they have experienced challenges.”
Wonderful scenes this morning at @SBKKerry as the 6th year students received their Leaving Certificate results. Congratulations to all the students, parents and the entire school community and the very best of luck to one and all. pic.twitter.com/n4nGp8VCGK
Advertisement— Norma Foley T.D (@NormaFoleyTD1) September 2, 2022
She added: “There will be no cliff edge for the students in terms of grade inflation.”
Ms Foley made the comments in Killarney, Co Kerry on Friday as more than 61,000 students received their Leaving Certificate results.
Some 58,056 Leaving Cert and 3,051 Leaving Cert Applied students sat exams across the State earlier this year.
About half of the grades have been artificially inflated this year to ensure they were no lower than last year’s grades.
The decision was taken following a promise to students to keep the results broadly in line with last year’s grades.
Delighted to share in the excitement and joy of Leaving Certificate results day with the sixth years, staff and parents of @KillarneyCommu1. Congratulations to one and all. pic.twitter.com/umTbcvqcE9
— Norma Foley T.D (@NormaFoleyTD1) September 2, 2022
Ms Foley offered her “sincere” congratulations to the class of 2022, describing results day as a moment of “achievement, celebration and success”.
“It’s an enormous achievement for them over what has been very challenging and demanding years for our students,” she said.
“They’ve met every challenge along the way.”
She also acknowledged the “enormous support” students had received from school staff.
“It’s been a challenging couple of years for them too but every step of the way their dedication to the students has been unstinting,” she added.
The results were issued online at 10am on Friday through the State Examinations Commission’s (SEC's) candidate self-service portal.
Congratulations to the 6th year students, parents and the entire school community at @thesemkillarney. It was a pleasure to have the opportunity to share in the buzz and excitement this morning. The very best of luck to you all. pic.twitter.com/Yq2JgG0skU
— Norma Foley T.D (@NormaFoleyTD1) September 2, 2022
The written examinations were held between June 8th-28th, while a deferred sitting of the exams was held from June 30th-July 16th for students who experienced close family bereavement, serious injury or illness or on public health grounds due to Covid-19.
The Leaving Certificate candidate helpline, run by the National Parents Council Post-Primary, will be available for students to talk to a guidance counsellor with any queries that they may have.
The helpline (1800-265 165) will operate from 2pm-8pm each day from results day until Wednesday, September 14th
The SEC candidate helpline (1800-111 135 or 1800-111 136) will also be available for queries relating to the self-service portal and the services from 10am-5pm from results day until Monday, September 12th.
