Longford students disappointed as Leaving Cert exam results delayed

Students in Longford have expressed their dismay that Leaving Cert results will not be released in the coming weeks, as was previously planned.

News emerged in the Dáil on Thursday evening that Leaving Cert results are set to be delayed until September 7, instead of next month.

Students had expected to receive their results not much later than the traditional mid-August date.

The delay has been attributed to the new Calculated Grades grading process introduced, as it wasn’t possible to operate the examinations safely in July/August 2020 as planned.

Students locally and nationally have expressed their disappointment at the delay, which will see CAO offers delayed also, as well as students’ start date for college or university.

Longford student and Vice President of the Irish Second Level Students Union (ISSU) told the Longford Leader that the delay is “incredibly disappointing”.

“It is regrettable that we found out about the news through a media leak rather than any official communication from the Minister or the Department, and that there appeared to be a lack of engagement with student representatives from the ISSU beforehand,” he explained.

“This delay presents a number of problems for students. For example, students will now have to wait until September to find out where, or even if, they’ll be going to college.

“This makes it incredibly difficult to make solid plans for the transition to college, including securing and finding accommodation.

“It also raises questions and concerns for students who plan to go to college outside of Ireland and the UK, for example to The Netherlands, many of whom needed to have their results submitted before the end of August to secure their place in college.”

CAO offers will be made on September 11 and the start date for students is up to each individual college or university.

“Students deserve answers and clarity around these issues as soon as possible, and the ISSU will be continuing to work with the Department, and all stakeholders constructively to bring about fair solutions for students,” said Luke.

“Notably, the delay is largely due to the ‘national standardisation’ process, an important process which involves statistical analysis and reviewing results from previous years to bring this year’s results into the line with Leaving Cert results from previous years, which means the Class of 2020 will have Leaving Cert results which stand up to scrutiny.”