‘We’re absolutely delighted’: Thousands of Leaving Cert students receive bumper grades

‘I just knuckled down, really’: Cork student gets 9 H1s in Leaving Cert
By her own admission, Robin Caren, 18, a student at Scoil Mhuire in Cork City, enjoys a challenge.
That was why she opted to take on nine subject for her Leaving Cert exams this year.
“I’m always busy or working or doing things,” she says. “I love learning.”
She was hoping to get 625 points – the maximum based on six subjects – in order to secure her first college choice of dentistry at UCC.
On Friday morning, surrounded by family, she scrolled through her phone looking at the exam results in disbelief.
“I got as far as six subjects and counted six H1s and I was in tears, happy tears. Then, my mum kept scrolling down and saw I had three more. It was amazing,” she says.
The secret of her success, she feels, was her early-morning study routine — and running.
“I just knuckled down, really. I’m a morning person and I’d get up at 5 or 5.30am. I’d do the bulk of my studying then. I got back into running, as well, and got in the habit of gong to bed early rather than studying late”.
Her only worry, now, is whether random selection will be used to select students for her course.
“I also have medicine, pharmacy and finance down on my course choices as well. So, hopefully it will work out!”
What will happen with CAO points on Wednesday?
Once the elation over today’s results subsides, the next question for many is: will I have enough points for my first choice?
In truth, no one can say for sure what will happen for individual courses given the different factors behind points requirements.
However, guidance counsellor Brian Mooney has written this excellent piece which explains how the CAO works and how colleges decide on entry points.
‘I thought I would fail Irish, but I passed it somehow … I am so happy’
Students at Donahies Community School in Dublin were thrilled at their results, with the majority performing better than expected, writes Cate McCurry.
Teenagers gathered with anticipation outside the principal’s office well before 10am, while others accessed their results online.
Clutching the white envelopes, students gathered in huddles and pulled out the results sheet.
The well-wishes and congratulations soon spread as the hard work paid off for the students.Among them was 18-year-old Daniel Ewubare from north Dublin.
“I am over the moon and so happy,” he said. “I feel joyful knowing the hard work paid off. Long nights until 6am paid off so I’m very happy.”
Joel Heatley, 18, also from north Dublin said: “I am very happy about my results, I wasn’t expecting it to be honest. It was worth the work. The last two years was probably the biggest part of work and it definitely paid off.
Rebecca McDermott, 18, hopes to go into primary school teaching.
“I was expecting to come in here and be upset at my results but I got what I needed in the subjects,” she said.
“I needed a H1 and I got that and am very much in shock. I thought paper 1 in Irish was okay but paper 2 was not my best day.”
Principal of Donahies Community School Peter Keoghan said it was a “super” day.
“The atmosphere is great and our hope now is that students will pass this phase in their lives and be ready to move on to the next step on the ladder.”
(- PA wire)
‘The right poet came up on the day’: 13 students at Cork school celebrate maximum points
My colleague Olivia Kelleher has spoken to students at Christian Brothers College where 13 received the maximum Leaving Certificate points of 625 today, with one pupil achieving eight H1 grades.
You can read her article here.
Joe Hartnett from Douglas, who got and seven H1s and maximum points, hopes to study medicine at UCC.
“I am over the moon with my results. The teachers were a great help during the year if we had any questions. We are grateful for that,” he said.
“I was a bit iffy about English but the right poet came up on the day. Thanks to Seamus Heaney.”
Foley confirms grades to return to pre-Covid levels from next year – but no ‘cliff edge’ drop
Minister for Education Norma Foley has said grades for next year’s Leaving Certs will not be artificially boosted to the same extent as recent years.
She said this was part of phased return to more “normal” patterns of results recorded prior to the Covid pandemic.
While students’ marks this year were increased by an average of 7.5 per cent to keep them in line with previous years, the adjustment next year will be lower.
“From 2025 we will see the adjustment reduced over time, step by step. The State Examinations Commission will determine how long that will take. I am very clear that it shouldn’t be a cliff edge; it should be a very small reduction over a number of years,” Ms Foley told reporters in Co Kerry on Friday.
“That will give an opportunity for students to return to pre-Covid levels … while also acknowledging that it shouldn’t happen of a sudden.”
In pictures: Leaving Cert students celebrate
It’s been a day of drama in households across the country.
While most students received their results online, some schools have invited students in to share the moment.
Here is a selection of images from the day so far.
Irish Times live helpdesk: we’re open for your queries
Our helpdesk, staffed by a guidance counsellors Deirdre Garrett and Brian Howard, are online to answer your queries about results, deferrals, appeals and CAO offers.
If you have any questions, you can send them in now.
The helpdesk will be open at the following times over the coming days:
‘We are absolutely delighted’: Cork school celebrates 13 students on maximum points
One of the schools celebrating an exceptional haul of grades is Christian Brothers College in Cork.
Among its class of 151 Leaving Cert students are 13 candidates who received the maximum points of 625; one of the students achieved some eight H1 grades.
“We are absolutely delighted to be celebrating our students’ outstanding Leaving Cert results again this year,” said principal David Lordon. “I’m sure the last few weeks have been an anxious time for the boys, but they can be very proud of their incredible results and are no doubt relieved that all the hard work and effort has paid off.
“Their Leaving Cert journey has been a real team effort, so it’s also a very special day for their parents and teachers who have supported and guided them every step of the way. It’s an exciting time for them now as they look forward to new opportunities and experiences in Third Level and beyond.”
I’ve got my results. What now?
We hope you’re delighted with your results.
Even if they didn’t meet your expectations, remember, there are lots of alternative options and pathways to your chosen career.
Brian Mooney, our columnist and guidance counsellor, has this guide for students on exploring other study options such as PLCs, tertiary degrees, apprenticeship and other routes into higher education.
Totting up your Leaving Cert points
There are just minutes to go now before students’ have access to their Leaving Cert results online.
While you’ll get individual grades, the display won’t show the total points or bonus points for the purposes of CAO entry.
We, however, are here to help.
Our Leaving Cert points calculator includes all these details.
This year’s students may be the last to get inflated grades
This, we are told, will be the final year of bumper Leaving Cert grades.
After several years of unprecedented grade inflation, there will be what education officials describe as a “glide path” back to normal results from next year.
While this year’s results were adjusted upwards by 7.5 per cent, next year’s are likely to be adjusted by upwards by somewhere in the region of 5 per cent. It will likely take a few years to before we get back to normal.
It suggests a smooth and gentle transition back to normal grades.
With so much at stake, and entry to college courses often decided by tiny margins, the likelihood is it will be anything but a soft landing.
You can read more here on how this is likely to play out.
The graph, below, shows how grades have soared over recent years and the kind of readjustment necessary to get back to pre-pandemic norms.
Irish Times live helpdesk: opens at midday
Our helpdesk, staffed by a team of guidance counsellors, will be online from midday on Friday to answer queries from students and their parents about their results, or about CAO offers, which will be issued next Wednesday.
If you have any questions, you can send them in now.
The helpdesk will be open at the following times:
How, exactly, were grades artificially increased?
Students receiving their results from 10am this morning may be pleasantly surprised to see how well they have done.
All grades have been artificially boosted by 7.5 per cent which, in turn, has increased more than two thirds of grades.
This is down a direction from the Minister for Education Norma Foley, who told the State Examinations Commission (SEC) to ensure this year’s Leaving Cert result are kept at the same high levels of 2021-2023.
We’ve covered why she did this in earlier posts – but how was it achieved, exactly?
All 2024 Leaving Cert students were marked as normal.
Once this was completed, experts examined the attainment gap between this year and last year’s results.
It required grades to be adjusted upwards by an average of 7.5 per cent over recent weeks.
The range of upward adjustment for individual grades varied from between 12.1 per cent for those at the bottom of the scale to 4.8 per cent at the top.
(This is called a “linear adjustment” which authorities say its the most appropriate way to adjust results given that the attainment gap in the results is more pronounced at the lower end of grade distributions).
This resulted in 68 per cent of students’ grades, overall, increasing.
Educational Testing Services were contracted to support the SEC in designing and implementing this post-marking adjustment. Additionally, a separate contract was awarded Trinity College Dublin to undertake quality assurance checks on the work.
Why were grades inflated to match last year’s levels?
Most of this year’s Leaving Cert students’ grades have been artificially inflated by exam authorities by an average of 7.5 per cent to bring them into line with record highs of recent years.
This, in turn, has boosted more than two-thirds (68 per cent) of students’ grades.
Why?
It follows a direction by Minister for Education Norma Foley that this year’s overall Leaving Cert exam results should be kept in line with record highs of recent years.
This is so students are not disadvantaged in the competition for college places again applicants from recent years. (In any given year, about a quarter of college applicants are presenting results from previous years).
Keeping grades at a high level, however, has downsides.
Ms Foley has pledged to begin a “phased” reduction in Leaving Cert results from next year.
Junior Cycle results: release date confirmed
All the focus is on Leaving Certs today – but a development for Junior Cycle students may get lost in all the noise.
The State Examinations Commission has confirmed that it intends to issue Junior Cycle results on Wednesday, 9 October, a week earlier than last year.
There has been criticism over the late release of results in recent years.
However, an increase in the supply of teachers working as examiners means authorities have been able to mark exams more quickly.
How will this year’s results affect CAO points next week?
It’s the big question facing students: how will this year’s Leaving Cert results affect CAO points when college offers issue on Wednesday?
With this year’s grades on a par with last year, we can expect CAO points to at least remain at a high level.
Guidance counsellor Brian Mooney, however, says better maths results this year at higher level will lead to an “avalanche” of additional bonus points.
This, in turn, may put upward pressure on points in high-demand courses.
This is his take on this year’s results:
“Higher-level maths continues to deliver an avalanche of bonus CAO points for Leaving Cert students. Some 20,330 students sat higher level in 2024. Of these, almost all – 19,640 – secured 25 bonus CAO points. (The other 690 students did not because they scored a H7 or lower.) This means there are some 490,000-plus bonus CAO points added to applicants’ scores, which will inevitably be reflected in a continuation of high points requirements in next Wednesday college offers. Higher-level Irish students also continued to outperform most subjects with 94 per cent of them securing a H5 or higher.”
Subject by subject: what’s up and what’s down?
In advance of the students’ results being issued their results, the State Examinations Commission has released a subject-by-subject breakdown of how students fared in each exam.
Peter McGuire has a detailed overview here.
In higher level maths, for example, H1s dropped significantly, from 18 per cent to 11 per cent. This year, however, the number of H1s is up to 13 per cent.
We’ve also compiled a chart, below, showing the proportion of top grades by subject area – and the trends over recent years.
Results day: what we know so far
You can read more on this year’s results here.