“Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats): To ask the Minister for Education and Skills his views on recent proposals (details supplied) to grant CAO points for students’ civic activity; and if he will make a statement on the matter …” (more)
[Dáil written answers, 11 June]
“With this year’s State examinations almost upon us, and a review of the senior cycle underway, it is perhaps timely to consider how that review should proceed. The Teachers’ Union of Ireland (TUI) represents second level teachers as well as teachers in further and adult education and third level lecturers …” (more)
[Seamus Lahart, Irish Times, 3 June]
“CAO courses taken by thousands of school leavers every year are ‘losing their attractiveness’, a new paper warns as it calls for a makeover. The paper, ‘The Future of Undergraduate Technological Higher Education’, says if no remedial action is taken, ‘”it is not impossible that both qualifications will gradually disappear’ …” (more)
[Katherine Donnelly, Independent, 6 May]
“The consultation with students and parents as part of the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) review of the Leaving Cert, reveals a surprising ignorance on how the exam has been radically transformed, as revised curriculums across a wide range of subjects have been introduced …” (more)
[Irish Times, 1 April]
“Students from disadvantaged schools should receive extra CAO points in recognition of the barriers they face, the president of a school management body has suggested. Paul Fiorentini, president of the Association of Community and Comprehensive Schools, said more work is needed to ensure greater equality of access to higher education …” (more)
[Carl O’Brien, Irish Times, 28 March]
“It was perhaps unclear, on June 23rd, 2016, just how destabilising Britain’s Brexit vote would be to the European economy as a whole. Ireland, as the UK’s nearest neighbour and one of its closest trading partners, is particularly exposed to these destabilising forces. It quickly became clear that myriad sectors of the Irish economy would come under significant strain, especially in the event of a no-deal Brexit …” (more)
[Matthew Murphy, University Times, 20 March]
“This year’s school leavers have made smart CAO choices to follow the jobs in the booming economy. A big jump in demand for courses in the Stem areas of science, technology, engineering and maths is a clear response to the wealth of opportunities for such graduates. In the fastest-growing economy in Europe, old reliables, such as teaching, law, architecture and construction have also seen a bounce in applications …” (more)
[Katherine Donnelly, Independent, 9 March]
“There has been a sharp drop in students from Britain and Northern Ireland applying to study in the Republic amid continuing uncertainty over Brexit. A breakdown of latest Central Applications Office (CAO) figures for 2019 shows applications from Northern Ireland are down by 18% annually while those from Britain are down 13% …” (more)
[Carl O’Brien, Irish Times, 9 March]
“A Fine Gael Senator is proposing to change the CAO applications system to give points for social and athletic involvement. Senator for Cavan-Monaghan Joe O’Reilly has proposed to change the current 625 points system to award 550 points for academic subjects and 75 points to social, cultural and athletic achievements …” (more)
[TheJournal.ie, 25 February]
“Minister for Education and Skills Joe McHugh TD and Minister for Higher Education Mary Mitchell O’Connor TD have today (15 February, 2019) welcomed confirmation that Round One offers from the Central Applications Office (CAO) will be issued this year on the earlier date of Thursday, 15 August 2019 …” (more)
[Department of Education and Skills, 15 February]
“This year’s Leaving Cert students will have to wait just 48 hours after they get their exam results to find out if they have a college place. Up until now, thousands of students have faced the agony of a five-day wait after their results to see if they secured a CAO offer …” (more)
[Carl O’Brien, Irish Times, 15 February]
“Parents need to be challenged over their belief that higher education is the ‘only measure of success’ for school-leavers, the head of a national education body has warned. Nessa White, general secretary of Education and Training Boards Ireland, was responding to the findings of a study which show alarming dropout rates among students in some computing and engineering courses with low CAO entry points …” (more)
[Carl O’Brien, Irish Times, 15 February]
“The long-term health of teenagers is being put at risk by the race for CAO points, according to health and fitness expert Professor Niall Moyna. His warning comes as a new study shows a sharp fall in fitness levels among second-level pupils, particularly girls, after the age of 15 …” (more)
[Katherine Donnelly, Independent, 11 February]
“Applications for college entry are up slightly on this time last year. The CAO received 73,157 applications when the main deadline passed yesterday. The final tally will likely be higher as there is a facility for late applications, and normally a few thousand more come in …” (more)
[Katherine Donnelly, Independent, 2 February]
“The number of CAO applications this year has increased slightly with more than 73,000 people applying for a place in higher education. The modest increase of just over 400 applications, or 0.6%, reverses last year’s trend when the total number of applications fell by 5%. This was due mainly due a decline in mature applicants …” (more)
[Carl O’Brien, Irish Times, 1 February]
“A Senator believes school students’ ‘civic activities’ should be included in the CAO Points System. Fine Gael Senator Joe O’Reilly thinks 80 points should be set aside for the personal development of students …” (more)
[Irish Examiner, 18 January]
“A rise in Leaving Cert student numbers this year could drive up points for college entry on popular courses. It will be some months before the final candidate figures are available, but it is understood an increase of 3%, or slightly more, is on the cards. It is the first significant increase in Leaving Cert exam candidates in many years and expected to translate into more CAO applications …” (more)
[Katherine Donnelly, Independent, 16 January]
“Industries facing acute skills shortages, such as the tech and construction sectors, are battling to attract school-leavers in the run up to this month’s CAO closing date. Up to 70,000 young people are selecting their courses and career choices, with most set to apply before the closing date for discounted application fees (€30) which expires this Sunday …” (more)
[Carl O’Brien, Irish Times, 14 January]
“Third-level colleges have not yet agreed a shortened timeline for offering places to Leaving Certificate students, seven weeks after it was hastily announced by two Government ministers. Education Minister Joe McHugh and Higher Education Minister of State Mary Mitchell O’Connor said on November 1 that the State Examinations Commission (SEC) would get exam results out a day earlier than usual next August …” (more)
[Niall Murray, BreakingNews.ie, 18 December]
“With almost 47,000 CAO acceptances this year, most of them from the Leaving Cert class of 2018, school-leaver college entry rates are pretty much at saturation level. Many of those who did not go straight to higher education started on a post-Leaving Certificate (PLC) course and will use that as a stepping stone …” (more)
[Katherine Donnelly, Independent, 4 December]
