“Benjamin Franklin famously quipped that there are only two certainties in life – death and taxes. It’s beginning to look as if the Department of Education is determined to add the Leaving Cert to the short list of things that can’t be avoided …” (more)
[Emer O’Hanlon, Independent, 5 April]
“Leaving Cert students are split on whether the June exams should be cancelled, according to a new survey. Almost half – 49% – want to cancel the June sittings and to be assessed through a system of predicted grading, based on previous results. However, 45% of student don’t want the traditional exams abandoned, with many supporting the idea of a July or August sitting if they can’t happen in June …” (more)
[Katherine Donnelly, Independent, 3 April]
“Tens of thousands of secondary school students have called for this year’s State exams to be cancelled and replaced with predicted grades. In an online survey of 47,000 Junior and Leaving Cert students over the past week, the Irish Second-Level Students’ Union found that most want their grades to be based on their coursework to date due to the disruption caused by schools being closed due to the coronavirus outbreak …” (more)
[Carl O’Brien, Irish Times, 3 April]
“Along with thousands of other Leaving Cert students, I find myself in an extraordinary position. Schools are closed and look set to remain shut until the summer. Many of us do not have quiet spaces in our homes or have unreliable wifi and sub-standard laptops. Significant numbers face being unable to complete the school curriculum. What impact will all this have on students studying for exams which are supposed to be fair and equitable? …” (more)
[Lucy Donegan, Irish Times, 3 April]
“Plans are being developed to allow for the Leaving and Junior cert exams to go ahead this year. Yesterday, the Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said the Government wants sixth year students to be able to start college later this year …” (more)
[BreakingNews.ie, 3 April]
“In what can only be described as absolutely unprecedented times, hundreds of thousands of children are at home and not going to school for a very elongated period. Leo Varadkar has said that as things stand, the State exams of the Junior and Leaving Certificates will be going ahead in the summer …” (more)
[James Brennan, TheLiberal.ie, 2 April]
“The Junior Cert should be cancelled to alleviate pressure on families during the coronavirus crisis, Cork South West Deputy Christopher O’Sullivan said, joining calls by Fianna Fáil education spokesperson Thomas Byrne that all efforts be directed to ensuring the Leaving Cert goes ahead …” (more)
[Bryan Smyth, TheCork.ie, 30 March]
“The provost of Trinity College Dublin has said new students may end up starting college ‘slightly later’ this year on foot of disruption to education linked to the coronavirus pandemic. In a video message to students, Dr Patrick Prendergast reassured secondary students hoping to study at Trinity that it will welcome new students in the autumn …” (more)
[Carl O’Brien, Irish Times, 26 March]
“Provost Patrick Prendergast has admitted Trinity will take a ‘financial hit’ as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, but insisted College ‘won’t let our mission in education, research and innovation be derailed’ …” (more)
[Alex Connolly, University Times, 26 March]
“Trinity Provost Professor Patrick Prendergast has reassured Leaving Cert students that they will be starting college in the autumn. ‘It might be slightly later than in previous years. It might be under slightly-adjusted criteria. But we will be welcoming you’, he said. His comments reflect the ongoing uncertainty over the ongoing impact of the coronavirus crisis on the education system, with schools already not due to re-open until April 20 at the earliest …” (more)
[Katherine Donnelly, Independent, 26 March]
“Leaving certificate students could sit their exams in late summer and start college as late as November, under contingency plans currently under discussion in the Department of Education, the Irish Times is reporting. Education stakeholders have in recent days discussed a range of plans if leaving certificate exams don’t start in June as a result of the coronavirus pandemic …” (more)
[Alex Connolly, University Times, 25 March]
“Leaving Cert students could end up sitting deferred exams and starting college as late as October or November under contingency plans being discussed by senior education sources. The Department of Education has been engaging with a range of education stakeholders over alternative plans for the Leaving Cert in the event that the exams do not begin in June as planned …” (more)
[Carl O’Brien, University Times, 25 March]
“Second-level students want to involved in the decision-making around the Leaving Cert and Junior cycle exams, in the face of the ongoing Covid-19 crisis. The Irish Second-Level Students’ Union (ISSU) said there was an immense feeling of uncertainty and anxiety as students await clarification on the exams …” (more)
[Katherine Donnelly, Independent, 25 March]
“Taoiseach Leo Vardakar said the government will do ‘everything possible’ so that the Leaving Certificate and college exams will go ahead. It comes as Education Minister Joe McHugh confirmed on Tuesday that although schools are closed up to March 29, they will not be opening immediately after that …” (more)
[Aine McMahon, Belfast Telegraph, 24 March]
“Students have been urged to ignore speculation about the exams, particularly on social media, and stay focused on their studies as schools look set to remain closed. Joe McHugh, the Minister for Education, confirmed this Tuesday that although schools are closed up to March 29, they will not be opening immediately after that …” (more)
[Jess Casey, Irish Examiner, 24 March]
“Opinion: The plan to continue with the written exams in June is not possible. Today I, like 56,000 other Leaving Cert students, would normally be getting ready for a seven- or eight-hour day at school with the aim of preparing for the most important exams of my life …” (more)
[Brian Lynch, Irish Times, 23 March]
“The Department of Education has said there is no intention at this moment to cancel or postpone either the Junior or Leaving Certificate this summer. Despite a report in a Sunday newspaper a statement from the Department of Education says it ‘remains completely focused on running both sets of state exams’ … (more)
[RTÉ News, 22 March]
“Like so much else during the coronavirus crisis, our education system is in uncharted waters. Parents and teachers have no firm of idea of when schools will reopen. Junior and Leaving Cert students do not know if they will have exams during the summer …” (more)
[Irish Times, 21 March]
“Sir, – The decision by the Department of Education to award full marks for oral and practical components of Leaving Certificate examinations is ill-judged at least and reckless at most …” (more)
[Letters, Irish Times, 21 March]
“The Department of Education is considering cancelling the summer Junior Cert exams for tens of thousands of students in a bid to prioritise the Leaving Cert if schools do not reopen. The move is one of a number of contingency plans being examined by officials in response to the coronavirus threat. The Minister for Education said this week that his department is currently working on the assumption that the Leaving Cert will go ahead as planned …” (more)
[Carl O’Brien, Irish Times, 20 March]
