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Billy Ryle says it’s a day for Kerry’s Leaving Certs to celebrate their superb results as Minister Foley delivers on her “no cliff edge” promise…
The 2023 Leaving Cert cohort exhaled a collective sigh of relief today, Friday, 25th August, when the exam results were issued at 10am by the State Examinations Commission (SEC) directly to candidates through the Candidate Self Service Portal (CSSP).
As always, Leaving Cert results in Kerry are excellent. When it comes to achievement in the Leaving Cert and securing places in Further and Higher Education, Kerry students are top of the Class.
While success should be celebrated, it’s important to consider your options during the next few days and to keep a close eye on the fast-moving timeline.
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CAO offers will flood into Kerry when Round One is released at 14.00 on the 30th August and important decisions will have to be made about your next step.
Leaving Cert results were issued earlier this year than in the past three years as the timeline gets back to almost normal after the disruptive Covid years.
Minister for Education Norma Foley TD pictured at Presentation Secondary School in Tralee on Friday morning with students Miriam Goubran and Katie Allman Moriarty who received their results. Photo By : Domnick Walsh © Eye Focus LTD
61,736 candidates sat the Leaving Cert this year – 58,006 took the established Leaving Cert and 3,730 opted for the Leaving Cert Applied (LCA). 1,764 candidates from Kerry sat the 2023 Leaving Cert exam – 1,645 sat the established Leaving Cert and 119 took the LCA.
In February 2023, Norma Foley, Minister for Education made it clear that there would be no “cliff edge” or automatic return to pre-pandemic grade levels in the 2023 Leaving Certificate results.
The Government also gave a commitment that the 2023 Leaving Cert exam results would, on aggregate, be no lower than the 2022 results. The post-marking adjustment applied by the SEC following the marking process made sure that would be the case. Not only was there no “cliff-edge” this year, but there wasn’t even a cliff!
Of the 410,00 Leaving Cert grades, 71.1% were increased in the adjustment. This compares to 50.4% in 2022. The remainder were unchanged. No marks were adjusted downwards. So, the overall results in 2023 have been adjusted up by an average of 7.9% compared to 5.6% last year.
The range of adjustment ranged from 5.1% to 12.7%. Good news, indeed for Kerry candidates, whose overall results are every bit as strong as last year. The downside will likely be some upwards movement in CAO points requirements for some courses.
Candidates can see their marks, including marks for each component on the CSSP from 12.00 on Tuesday, 29th August. Candidates can apply on the CSSP to view their scripts online from 17.00 on Tues., 29th August, until 20.00 on Wed., 30th August.
LCA application to view scripts is done online during the same timeline. It’s well worth viewing your marked scripts before deciding to appeal any subject(s) results.
Both scripts marked manually and scripts marked online will be available to candidates for viewing. In the case of the former, each candidate will be assigned one of two sessions on Saturday, 2nd September.
Session One is from 09.30 to 12.30, Session Two is from 14.00 to 17.00. Online access to view scripts that were marked online will also be available from 09.00 on Saturday, 2nd September to 09.00 on Sunday, 3rd September.
Any candidate who wishes to submit an appeal application against an awarded grade – commonly called ‘applying for a recheck’ – can do so on the CSSP between 10.00 on Sunday, 3rd September and 17.00 on Monday, 4th September.
Until such time as the number of appeals is known, the SEC won’t commit to a specific date for publishing the appeal results. The appeal fee is €40 per Leaving Cert subject and €15.50 per LCA subject. The fee is refunded if the appeal is successful.
This year’s timelines for candidates to apply to view scripts and to lodge their appeal applications are very tight. The SEC maintains that these timelines are essential to ensure that the remaining stages of the appeal process can be completed as quickly as possible.
Latest CAO data confirms a final figure of 84,226 applicants, down slightly from 84,321 in 2022. 2,394 applicants have applied to CAO from County Kerry. That’s a 4.4% decrease on the 2022 figure of 2,505.
The blue riband courses are again in high demand and will require high points to secure a course offer.
However, with over 51,000 places on offer this year, including an extra 785 places in healthcare courses, applicants can be very hopeful of a college offer.
All will be revealed when CAO Round One of offers is released next Wednesday. I sincerely hope that it will be a joyful day for Kerry’s CAO applicants.
SEC/CAO TIMELINE 2023
Fri., 25th August: Leaving Cert results issued online at 10.00
Tues., 29th Aug.: Candidates can see their marks on the CSSP from 12.00
Tues., 29th Aug.: Online application to view exam scripts opens at 17.00
Wed., 30th Aug.: Online application to view exam scripts closes at 20.00
Wed., 30th Aug.: CAO Round One offers online from 14.00
Thurs., 31st Aug: CAO available place facility opens at 12.00
Sat., 2nd Sept: viewing of scripts marked manually from 09.30 to 12.30
Sat., 2nd Sept: viewing of scripts marked manually from 14.00 to 17.00
Sat., 2nd Sept: viewing of scripts marked online from 09.00
Sun., 3rd Sept: viewing of scripts marked online closes at 09.00
Sun., 3rd Sept: application to appeal open at 10.00
Mon. 4th Sept: application to appeal closes at 17.00
Tues., 5th Sept: accept Round One offer by 15.00
Mon., 11th Sept: CAO Round Two offers online at 14.00
Wed., 13st Sept: accept Round Two offers by 15.00
Tues., 19th Sept: CAO Round Three offers online at 10.00
Thurs., 21th Sept: accept Round Three offers by 15.00
TBC: results of Leaving Cert appeals released
Many Post-Leaving Cert (PLC) Courses still have vacancies
Apply now to State Agencies for training courses
Many schools cater for repeat Leaving Cert students
The confidential help line free phone number is 1800 265 165
Good luck to all candidates getting Leaving Cert results today
• Billy Ryle is a Career Guidance Counsellor and Educational Commentator
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