Longford student achieves sensational points haul in Leaving Cert

The way Leaving Certificate students receive their grades have changed over the last few years. What had dwindled as results went online was all but finished by the Covid shutdown.

The communal gathering to receive results may be a thing of the past, but the excitement around results is no less significant.

On Friday more than 61,000 Leaving Cert students across Ireland receiving their results, which were artificially boosted in order to comply with a commitment made by the Minister for Education earlier this year.

The boosting of the results was to compensate for a fractured education experience of the students to sit their exams in 2022.

Online classes, remote learning and a disruptive educational meant that no matter what the State boost did any student who garnered high test scores did so under adverse circumstances.

Clara Doherty is one student who appears to have thrived under the stressful conditions. Clara, a student in Meán Scoil Mhuire, Longford, scored the maximum 625 points thanks to her seven Higher paper Grade 1s.

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In addition to her English, Irish and Maths the Killoe student took French, Chemistry, Biology and Accounting.

She spoke of the importance of not focusing exclusively on education: “There has to be a work-life balance. I still went out with my friends.”

Her results mean she will probably get her first choice: “I want to do Actuarial Financial studies in UCD. Maths and accounting are my favourite subject. I picked UCD because the course if broader than the DCU one, but I also love the campus in UCD. I visited them all last year and I really felt at home in it.”

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Clara is fortunate to have sorted her accommodation for he coming year, but is aware of the difficulty many students find themselves in: “I will be staying in digs. On campus accommodation is so difficult to get. I am number 3,000 on the waiting list. It was a bit stressful for a while.”

Her parents, Padraig and Dervla Doherty, are naturally very proud of their daughter.

The conclusion of the second cycle of Clara's education comes as a relief: “It was very stressful. At the time you feel your future depends on how you perform on one day in an exam hall. It's unreal, very tough.”