Just over 65,000 students received their Leaving Cert results this morning. These are the first to see their grades inflated at a lower level due to a “modest, gradual reduction” in the level of post-marking adjustment.
Just over half of this year’s 65,444 students’ grades have been artificially inflated, compared with more than two-thirds last year, marking the first stage of a gradual phasing out of grade inflation introduced during the pandemic.
Grades remain far higher than in pre-pandemic years, with 11.7 per cent of higher-level grades awarded being H1s. This is down from 14.3 per cent last year but compares with between 5 and 6 per cent pre-pandemic.
Our CAO helpdesk is now live here to take questions. You can submit any questions you have about this year’s process, from points Leaving Cert results, to appeals, deferrals and more.
Key reads
Jack White – 2 minutes ago
Minister for Education Helen McEntee at her former school, St Joseph’s Mercy Secondary School, in Navan, Co Meath, this morning as students received results.
Jack White – 5 minutes ago
Results will return to pre-pandemic levels over the coming years with as “little impact on students as possible,” Minister for Education Helen McEntee has said.
The minister said those receiving their results this year saw a “really small decrease” in grade inflation.
“While there has been a slight change to the overall grade inflation, it’s important to stress that no students will see their grades decrease. What we’ll see is perhaps a slight reduction in the level of increase in some, but by and large, it’s really marginal.
“What I want to ensure is that, over the years, we get back to pre-Covid levels and there’s as little impact on students as possible,” she said.
Speaking this morning at her former school, St Joseph’s Mercy Secondary School, in Navan, Co Meath, the minister said it is an “exciting” and “nerve-wracking day” for those receiving their results.
“Enjoy it,” she said.
Jack White – 30 minutes ago
Our CAO helpdesk is now live here to take questions. You can submit any questions you have about this year’s process, from points Leaving Cert results, to appeals, deferrals and more.
Our education experts Deirdre Garrett and Brian Howard will be on hand from 12pm to give you quick and clear feedback.
Jack White – 41 minutes ago
‘There are many different paths’
There are more options “than ever before” for those receiving their results today, Minister for Further and Higher Education James Lawless has said.
“Leaving Certificate results day is an important milestone, but it is only one of many in life. For those who are happy with their results, I wish you continued success.
“For those who may feel disappointed, remember that education is a lifelong journey and there are many different paths to success,” he said.
Alongside the CAO route, he noted paths through further education and training, PLC courses, and a “significantly expanded range of apprenticeships” with more than 70 different programmes available across different sectors.
“We are building an education and training system that is responsive and adaptive to the needs of learners,” he said.
Jack White – 54 minutes ago
What effect will this year’s results have on CAO offers?
With results now live for over 65,000 candidates, you might be wondering what they might mean for the CAO.
Prior to the enhancement of Leaving Cert grades, between 250 and 300 students were securing 625 points each year. Post-Covid, they have been about 1,250.
Read more from Brian Mooney here.
Jack White – 57 minutes ago
Ukrainian, which was examined for the first time this year, was the largest non-curricular subject provided by the SEC with 549 candidates.
About 35 per cent of those students achieved a H1.
It was examined in the same format as the non-curricular EU language examinations, The subject was introduced within the wider response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Romanian is the second-largest non-curricular subject provided, with 417 candidates this year.
Subjects: What’s up, what’s done and what has stayed the same?
The proportion of H1s and O1s achieved this year has fallen by 2.6 per cent and 2.1 per cent, but how have individual subjects fared?
In Maths, the number of H1s has fallen from 12.6 to 11 per cent, however, the drop is far more pronounced at ordinary level, with the number of O1s falling to just 6 per cent from 11.6 per cent.
Geography, meanwhile, saw one of the steepest declines in marks for any subject in recent years, with 47.6 per cent of higher-level students achieving a H1, H2 or H3, compared with 55.6 last year.
Peter McGuire has a detailed overview here.
This year’s post-mark adjustment has been calibrated to effect a “gradual return to normal while minimising the impact on candidates to the greatest possible degree,” said Jacinta Stewart, chair of the State Examinations Commission.
“In all of our work on the 2025 Leaving Certificate, we have strived to ensure that candidates are treated fairly and equitably, that results are of the highest standards of quality, and that there is full transparency for candidates,” she said.
Speaking on RTÉ Radio 1 on Friday morning about a return to pre-pandemic levels of grade inflation, Minister for Education Helen McEntee stressed that every student “has seen an adjustment this year, an increase if you would, nobody has seen a decrease in their marks”.
Those receiving results today will be competing with almost 20,000 former Leaving Cert students who sat their exams in previous years. The vast majority of the 19,782 former students applying through the CAO this year completed exams since 2020 and received higher levels of grade inflation.
Asked about competition for Leaving Cert courses, Ms McEntee said there will always be that level of competition, and “in fact, the information I have from the CAO is that it’s slightly lower this year”.
“One of the reasons why it’s important to readjust and bring ourselves back to pre-pandemic levels is that you have even more students that are in a lottery. Because we’ve seen an inflation, we’ve seen more higher grades, it’s actually pushed up the points.”
The Minister added that more courses will be offered this year “where there is particular pressure” including in medicine, nursing, dentistry and pharmacy.
Ella Sloane – 2 hours ago
Monica Keogh from Glasnevin after receiving x8 H1’s in her Leaving Cert results last year
Ella Sloane – 2 hours ago
Class of 2025
The class of 2025 is the largest group to sit the Leaving Certificate exams for the first time (excluding those repeating) at 60,937. This marks an increase of 4,146 or 7.3 per cent on the 56,791 who sat the examination last year.
The effect of these additional 4,146 students on CAO entry requirements will become clear next Wednesday when the first-round third-level offers are issued.
Ella Sloane – 2 hours ago
Results day: what we know so far
Leaving Certificate results have fallen this year as grade deflation takes hold, with just over half of this year’s Leaving Cert students’ grades artificially inflated, compared with more than two-thirds last year. The drop marks the first stage of a gradual phasing out of grade inflation introduced during the pandemic.
The proportion of top grades gained are down: H1s by 2.6% compared to last year, and O1s down by 2.1%.
Marks were added to all results this year, resulting in 52.4 per cent of grades increasing, a significant drop from the 68 per cent of grades affected last year.
The adjustments were made by the State Examinations Commission (SEC) after exam papers were marked in the normal way. On average, marks were increased by 6.8 per cent, down from 7.5 per cent last year.
You can read more on this year’s results here.