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Billy Ryle says there has been disappointment, tempered with relief, as the Junior Cycle exam results have been delayed until Wednesday, November 23…
So much time has passed since 68,408 candidates sat for the Junior Cycle exam last June, that many of them may have forgotten all about it.
They will have settled into Transition or 5th year and, perhaps, have despaired of ever getting their exam results. But, as the saying goes, the result is far more important than the contest.
So, there is no doubt that the young people who took their first public exam last June, were delighted to learn on Tuesday that their results will be published on Wednesday, November 23. It’s still a long way off but, at least, the young people concerned now have certainty.
Continued below…
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The Junior Cycle exam is a prestigious exam of the State Examinations Commissions (SEC) and it’s the first opportunity for second level students to engage with a public exam of this nature.
To suggest that the status of the Junior Cycle exam has been diminished in a more educated society is not totally fair to those awaiting results.
While its true to say that very few students drop out of formal education after Junior Cycle, it’s still a major milestone for those taking the exam.
All of us remember the great joy we felt when we got the results of our first ever State exam. The sense of achievement made us very proud. We realised that three years of hard work paid dividends.
We celebrated in a manner that was appropriate to our time. My celebration was a bottle or orange and two Barry’s vanillas in Denna Fitzgerald’s of Rock Street with my friends.
But it was a memorable occasion. The Class of 2022 are entitled to their celebration when their results are finally released.
The importance of the Junior Cycle exam results in modern education, is in subject selection for Leaving Cert. Subject selection is the first step to college.
While this is not an immediate concern to students taking the optional Transition Year, its vital that 5th year students select a subject grouping that will enable them to achieve a competitive Leaving Cert exam result.
The subjects they select and their Leaving Cert results will determine the college course that will be offered by the CAO.
In fairness, the SEC must be commended for providing a Junior Cycle exam for the first time since 2019.
The SEC had very significant examiner shortages which delayed marking at both Leaving Certificate and Junior Cycle.
The SEC also provided a deferred sitting of the Leaving Cert exam. Consequently, the Leaving Cert results were published much later than normal on 2nd September and the Leaving Cert subject appeal results came out five weeks later on Friday, 7th October, in time for the CAO offers.
The number of candidates who sat for the Junior Cycle exam this year was also 3,500 up on the 2019 figure, when the exams were last held for all candidates.
While the Junior Cycle results are very late, great credit is due to Minister Norma Foley and the SEC for running the State exams as efficiently as the very difficult circumstances allowed.
The quality and integrity of the exams was as good as ever and the number of CAO and PLC offers was very reassuring.
Junior Cycle exam results will be available in schools on Wednesday, 23rd November and candidates can also access their results online from 4pm on that date.
As a gesture to the long-suffering candidates, perhaps Minister Foley might intervene to have the results available online at 9am rather than 4pm so that the young people can enjoy a belated celebration and shoot the breeze for a few hours with their friends over a cappuccino and pizza!
• Billy Ryle is a Career Guidance Counsellor and Educational Commentator
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