Record number of students begin Leaving and Junior Cert exams at schools in Ireland and Libya

A record number of students are due to begin their higher level examinations today (June 7). 

According to the State Examinations Commission (SEC), 135,033 candidates are sitting Leaving Certificate, Leaving Certificate Applied and Junior Cycle examinations across the country, running until June 27, June 15, and June 19 respectively. 

The rise in the number of candidates sitting examinations is linked to demographic increases, with a 3% rise (3,602) compared to last year's figure of 131,431. 

The most significant increases are recorded in the Leaving Certificate Applied programme with a massive 20% increase, followed by a 5% rise in Junior Cycle.  

Chairperson of the SEC, Mr. Pat Burke, spoke ahead of the exams and said, "The state examinations are a significant milestone for candidates, their families and school authorities.

"The examinations this year have been subject to appropriate adjustments, proportionate to the educational experience of the class of 2023 over the course of the pandemic. On behalf of my fellow Commissioners and all of the staff of the SEC, I wish to offer sincere best wishes to all those taking the certificate examinations this year." 

The highest concentration of students sitting the Leaving Certificate are located in Dublin with 14,831 students (29893 males and 29834 females), followed by Cork (6723), Galway (3353), and Kildare (3184).

Students in Leitrim make up the smallest number of candidates (459) nationwide, while 100 students are sitting the exams at the International School of the Martyrs (ISM) in Tripoli, Libya. 

Three thousand eight hundred and twelve students are sitting Leaving Certificate Applied exams (2109 males and 1703 females), with 71,494 students (36378 males and 35116 females) sitting Junior Cycle exams. 

Seventeen thousand eight hundred and fifteen Junior Cert students are sitting exams in Dublin, followed by 8005 people in Cork, 3896 in Galway, 3874 in Kildare, and 3063 in Limerick.  

Following a review, the SEC will provide a deferred sitting of the Leaving Certificate examinations for eligible candidates who miss their examinations due to serious illness, accident or injury or a close family bereavement.

The main change this year provides for a candidate who experiences an extreme medical emergency during an examination. 

There is also a change to the timing of eligibility for access on grounds of bereavement and an increase in the timeline for the completion of an application from four to five working days.

Following public health advice, the SEC is advising that Leaving Certificate candidates who only have nasal symptoms, such as a runny nose or a sneeze, but otherwise feel well should attend for their examinations but candidates with Covid-19 may apply for access to the deferred sitting and will be subject to a mandatory absence period of 5 days. 

The deferred examinations series will commence on June 29. 

Speaking about the provision of deferred Leaving Certificate and Leaving Certificate Applied examinations, Mr Burke said, "Following a review by the SEC of the eligibility criteria for deferred examinations, the inclusion of candidates who experience an extreme medical emergency during an examination represents a further significant improvement to the examinations system, providing an appropriately supportive response for candidates who find themselves in very challenging circumstances at examinations time and unable to take their examinations as a result." 

The SEC intends to issue the 2023 Leaving Certificate and Leaving Certificate Applied examination results to candidates on Friday August 25. 

Shortages in the numbers of teachers undertaking roles with the SEC, especially to mark the written examinations, is reportedly being addressed through a whole-of-system review. 

Arising from this process which has included a revitalised recruitment campaign, enhanced rates of payment, and very active support from teacher unions, school leadership and management bodies, the number of written examiners is at a higher level than at this time in 2022. 

Seven hundred and fifty seven candidates will be examined in the fifteen non-curricular language subjects, including Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Estonian, Finnish, Hungarian, Latvian, Maltese, Modern Greek, Romanian, Slovakian, Slovenian, and Swedish. 

The full county breakdown for the number of students sitting the Leaving Certificate is available below: