Class of 2023 overcomes Covid-19 to ace the Leaving Certificate

The reactions of students and teachers at Lucan Community College in Dublin to Leaving Cert results on Friday, if replicated across the country, would suggest there was a lot more joy than sorrow for the class of 2023.

Teenagers gathered excitedly in the school’s basketball hall to discuss how they got on and to collect tickets for their grad ball, a significant rite of passage at the end of the second-level cycle.

Principal Diane Birnie was proud of her students, who had sat State exams for the first time after their Junior Certificate was halted by the Covid-19 pandemic. There were 142 Leaving Certificate candidates in the school, of whom 12 completed the Leaving Certificate Applied course.

“Our school is a microcosm of society,” Ms Birnie said. “We have students from all backgrounds and traditions. We have a very wide choice of subjects for Leaving Certificate.

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“It was a big sense of relief for our students. They’re absolutely thrilled. Our Leaving Certificate Applied students were almost all distinctions.”

Sixth year head Jason Carey said the students deserved their success. They did not sit the Junior Cert in 2020 and spent most of the first year of senior cycle studying from home.

“We had to take them back into the classroom and re-educate them,” he said. “We had individual students who had to overcome difficult situations. What I am really proud [of] is the individual results.”

The highest points tally awarded to a student in school was 615, just 10 off the maximum of 625. With the results available online, that student did not turn up in the hall on Friday but dozens of others did.

Eoin O’Sullivan said the results were “kind”, a viewpoint widely shared with most students exceeding their own expectations. “A lot of people say they are happy. Everybody should get the course that they need.”

O’Sullivan clocked up 100 points more than the 420 that would have been necessary last year for his chosen course, communications at Dublin City University. He is hoping to become a sports journalist.

“I should be fine. I’m looking forward to it,” he said.

Sarah Mahon was “delighted” with the results, especially in maths which she, like many after the now infamous paper one handed out in June, had concerns about.

“The general vibe is that everybody is really happy from what I’ve seen here and on social media,” she said. “It’s great to see that all the hard work paid off throughout the year.”

Mahon is hoping to go to University College Dublin to study business and law or commerce. The threshold last year was 560 points. “I’ll get it if [the points] don’t go up too much,” she added.

Lucan Community College reflects the multicultural society that Ireland has become, with a welcome in 22 languages printed in the front hall.

[ Leaving Cert results: Warning over ‘credibility’ of students’ inflated grades ]

Natasha Roca, who is of Romanian origin, studied Romanian on her own. “I got a H3 [70 to 79 per cent] and I didn’t think I would pass,” she said. She believes she will have enough points to get into an arts degree at Maynooth University.

All will revealed next week when the Central Applications Office points thresholds are published. Ms Birnie believes many students have exceeded the thresholds for their chosen courses and will not be disappointed.

“Every student I have spoken to so far is happy and eagerly awaits what places they will get offered on Wednesday.”