Ninth Level Ireland

“A second home-schooled Leaving Certificate student who was excluded from this year’s Calculated Grades process has won their case in the High Court. In his ruling Mr Justice Charles Meenan said the Department of Education’s failure to provide a system for the unnamed student was irrational, arbitrary, unfair and unlawful …” (more)

[Emma O Kelly, RTÉ News, 24 September]

“Even if students legally challenging the calculated grades system win their cases, they may not get their chosen place in college this year. The wheels of justice turn slowly and it will be the end of October, at the earliest, before a ‘lead’ case gets under way in the High Court …” (more)

[Shane Phelan, Independent, 24 September]

“Danny Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent): To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the exceptions being made for those that had sat their leaving certificate in 2019 and applied for college places in 2020 given that average grades across all subjects increased by 4.4% in 2020; and if he will make a statement on the matter …” (more)

[Dáil written answers, 22 September]

“Students at a fee-paying south Dublin school who received their Leaving Certificate results earlier this month have initiated legal proceedings against the Government. Papers were filed on behalf of the students and the board of management at St Kilian’s German School in Clonskeagh in the High Court on Tuesday …” (more)

[TheJournal.ie, 23 September]

“More than 2,600 college applicants have received an offer on a course of their choice in the second round of this year’s CAO process. They include 1,098 students who received no offer at all in the CAO’s first round earlier this month …” (more)

[Emma O Kelly, RTÉ News, 23 September]

“A student who sat the Leaving Certificate in 2019 has withdrawn her High Court challenge to the 2020 calculated grades system after securing a place on her course of choice …” (more)

[Vivienne Traynor, RTÉ News, 23 September]

“The skies are darkening with the chickens coming home to roost. The High Court cases are the big test of a Leaving Cert which may have seemed two weeks ago to have been a success. In reality, it was always nothing short of a shambles. If the courts rule in favour of the students, then the whole house of cards will come tumbling down as a disorderly queue forms for those with similar claims …” (more)

[Colm O’Rourke, Independent, 20 September]

Gary Gannon (Dublin Central, Social Democrats): To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if there was a difference between the number of CAO first preference offers in 2020 between candidates using 2020 predictive leaving certificate grades and those that completed their leaving certificate in other years in tabular form …” (more)

[Dáil written answers, 17 September]

“Removing ‘school profiling’ from the calculated grades process for Leaving Cert students may have affected the accuracy of the final results, according to a Department of Education study. The plan to take account of schools’ Leaving Cert performance over a three-year period sparked significant controversy over the summer …” (more)

[Carl O’Brien, Irish Times, 19 September]

“IT Tralee has been criticized for pulling a course two days before CAO offers were due. The Institute of Technology Tralee had offered, through the Central Applications Office, Agricultural Mechanisation, which is a level 7 degree course …” (more)

[Radio Kerry, 17 September]

“A student who sat the Leaving Certificate in 2019 has brought a High Court challenge after missing out on her first choice of university course …” (more)

[RTÉ News, 17 September]

“A Dublin student who achieved six H1s in this year’s Leaving Cert has been ‘left in limbo’ after he received no CAO offer due to a system mix-up …” (more)

[Amy Molloy, Independent, 17 September]

“More than one in five Leaving Cert candidates have appealed the calculated grades they received. When the deadline for appeal applications closed, 12,292 of the 60,419 students challenged how the process introduced to replace the June exams treated them …” (more)

[Katherine Donnelly, Independent, 16 September]

“A Leaving Cert student who narrowly missed out on the points to study medicine has mounted a High Court challenge to the Leaving Cert calculated grades system. This is the first of what may be several High Court challenges against the system used to calculate Leaving Certificate results during Covid 19 …” (more)

[Ann O’Loughlin, BreakingNews.ie, 16 September]

“Sir, – In order to create a level playing field for those students who sat the Leaving Cert last year, and stand now to potentially lose out on a college place this year as a result of average 7% inflation in grades …” (more)

[David Doran, Irish Times, 16 September]

“Colm Burke (Cork North Central, Fine Gael): To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if students that have taken a gap year from their studies following the leaving certificate 2019 will receive support from his Department in the CAO process to ensure comparability between an unprecedented 2019 and 2020; if there are substantial increases in CAO points in the leaving certificate 2020; and if he will make a statement on the matter …” (more)

[Dáil written answers, 10 September]

“Sir, – Prof Gerry McNamara makes a number of disparaging remarks about the Leaving Certificate (‘Covid-19 has opened way to finally fix Leaving Cert’, Opinion & Analysis, September 2020). He claims that, ‘The Leaving Certificate is the same as when I taught it 30 years ago’, and that it is ‘accused of being out of date, depending too much on rote learning’, and is an examination process that has been captured by the middle class …” (more)

[Letters, Irish Times, 15 September]

“The Government’s decision to exclude from consideration how the past performance of a school should affect its students’ Leaving Certificate results is expected to be a target of legal challenge. There is a widespread view that an effect of this has been that students who attended schools, including grind schools, that have a track record of high achievement have had their results unfairly downgraded …” (more)

[Colm Keena, Irish Times, 15 September]

“Leaving Cert students disappointed with their calculated grades can access a final appeals process independent of the Department of Education, it has emerged. On Monday morning, students began checking an online portal detailing grades estimated by their schools, as distinct from final calculated grades …” (more)

[Mark Hilliard, Irish Times, 14 September]

“Lawyers say the release of teachers’ estimated percentage marks for Leaving Cert students on Monday is likely to result in a flurry of legal actions from parents whose children ‘lost out’ under the calculated grades process …” (more)

[Carl O’Brien, Irish Times, 14 September]