Just over 65,000 students received their Leaving Cert results this morning. These are the first to see their grades inflated at a lower level due to a “modest, gradual reduction” in the level of post-marking adjustment.
Just over half of this year’s 65,444 students’ grades have been artificially inflated, compared with more than two-thirds last year, marking the first stage of a gradual phasing out of grade inflation introduced during the pandemic.
Grades remain far higher than in pre-pandemic years, with 11.7 per cent of higher-level grades awarded being H1s. This is down from 14.3 per cent last year but compares with between 5 and 6 per cent pre-pandemic.
Our CAO helpdesk is now live here to take questions. You can submit any questions you have about this year’s process, from points Leaving Cert results, to appeals, deferrals and more.
Key reads
- CAO Helpdesk: ‘Will primary teaching points drop or rise this year?’: Education experts answer your questions live
- Analysis: Could this be the most controversial set of Leaving Cert results in history?
- Five key takeaways from this year’s results
Elsewhere in Cork city, at Christian Brothers College, a further ten students achieved 625 points.
Five of them received seven H1s, and a further five achieved six H1s.
Their principal, David Lordon, said the school is “very proud” of its Leaving Cert class of 2025.
Some 21 students at the school obtained more than 600 points.
“The weeks leading up to today have doubtless been a nervous time for everyone, but I’m sure when they logged on this morning to view their results, they felt that all their effort and sacrifice had paid off, he said.
‘I put a lot of hard work in’: Cork student achieves eight H1s
A student in Cork who achieved the maximum 625 points possible, said he was “delighted” to see eight H1s on Friday morning.
Fiachra Wall, who attended Presentation Brothers College, achieved the highest grades possible in eight higher-level subjects.
Alongside Irish, English and maths, he achieved H1s in Latin, accounting, chemistry, physics, and applied maths.
He hopes to study medicine at University College Cork.
“I’m really delighted with my results. I put a lot of hard work in over the last few years and it’s great to see it pay off. I also managed to keep up my sports which was definitely a big help,” he said.
He was one of six at the school to get maximum points, while 30 in total received more than 600 points.
“I would have made sure to at least get an hour or so of schoolwork done every day as I found consistency to be the most important thing with my studying.
“I would of course do more over the weekend then but I tried to never burn myself out with too much,” he said.
He added that he could not have achieved his eight H1s without the support of his parents, who gave him a “big hug” after he received his results at the school.

His principal, David Barry, said the school was one point down on average from last year due to lowering grade inflation.
Amid the plans to reduce grade inflation, he said the students felt a sense of “inequity, in that they’re doing the same thing but they were going to be marked harder.”
“Of course, our students last year had done their best in their circumstances,” he said, adding: “Anyone who is in it is always going to feel that it’s going to be unfair.”
He added that Mr Wall and his fellow students “got what they deserved after their hard work.”
Peter Keohane, principal of Donahies Community School, said the transition to move away from grade inflation and back to pre-Covid levels is concerning for some students who may be left at a disadvantage when competing for college places.
“Of course, but we always had to go back to the norm. The journey has to be gradual,” he added.
“I suppose we have to accept that we are on the journey back to remove that grade inflation that took place in the Covid years.”

He added: “At first glance, I could not be happier with the results that we have here today. I haven’t analysed them in detail yet, but I will for the rest of the day, spend a bit of time on them.
“But genuinely, I do this every year, and I’ve been doing it for a long time. I have that initial glance, some years you’re, you know, coming out to see the students thinking, oh I wish they were a little bit better or thrilled, whatever the case may be.
“My gut initial reaction from this year is wow. Well done everybody here in this school.” - PA
A wave of elation and relief swept across a north Dublin school as its students gathered to open their Leaving Certificate results.
At Donahies Community School, students gathered in huddles to open the envelopes which revealed how they performed in the exams.
Many students were thrilled and overjoyed with their results, the majority seemingly performing better than expected.
Teachers stood nearby, anxiously awaiting news.
Among them was Luke Kelly, 18, from Darndale, who hopes to study law and criminology in Maynooth.
He said: “I’m actually happy. I got 350 points. I got a H3 in PE, which I’m very happy with. I got a H5 in biology, which I’m very happy with as I thought I failed that.
“Somehow I got a O3 in maths and I’m horrible at maths, so I don’t know how I somehow got that, but I’m very happy.
“I opened my results with my family and I prefer being with my family and experiencing it with them.
“The exams are stressful but you have to push through and know it will all be worth it in the end when you open the results and see the smile on faces.”

Alex Canning, 18, from Donaghmede, said he was delighted with his results.
“I was feeling a bit nervous last night, but when I woke up and saw the results, I couldn’t believe it. I got everything that I wanted in the Leaving Cert, so I’m very happy with my results,” he said.
“I was with my mum and dad when I opened them and they were delighted. Very happy.
“I now hope to do primary school teaching in DCU.
“It was stressful coming up to the exams and doing them but now we are here and have the results, it’s worth it.” - PA
Wondering if CAO course points will decrease this year? Or maybe you’re questioning whether you will have enough time to appeal a certain subject before starting college.
A lot of important questions are being raised and answered at our CAO helpdesk.
The new Rose of Tralee, Katelyn Cummins, an apprentice electrician, is a “powerful example of how passion and practical skills can pave the way to success”, Marian Harkin has said.
The minister of state at the Department of Further and Higher Education said the Laois Rose shows that apprenticeships are an “exciting and empowering option for today’s students.”
“For some students, university will be the choice they make, and that is great, but there are many other pathways,” Ms Harkin said.
Speaking to The Irish Times this week, the newly-crowned Rose said she discovered a love of working with electrics while on transition year work experience.

The 20-year-old, who is in the third phase of her apprenticeship with Alpha Drives Ltd, which designs and manufactures gearboxes and other electrics, said she is “absolutely delighted” to represent women in the trade world.
“I think I am inspiring a lot of girls and I hope to continue to do so,” she said.
Read more of Niamh’s Browne’s interview with the winning Rose here.
Students wishing to see their pre-adjusted marks will be able to view a full breakdown online at midday on Tuesday.
On average, marks were increased this year by 6.8 per cent, down from 7.5 per cent in 2024, resulting in 52 per cent of grades being artificially inflated.
Applications to appeal results, meanwhile, will open on August 31st at 10am and will close on September 1st at 5pm.
Appeal results are to be issued on September 26th, according to the SEC.
Some photos are coming in of students who are attempting to keep alive the tradition of receiving results in-person.

Results are now issued online, though many schools still allow students to receive them in-person.

Sinn Féin’s Pearse Doherty, meanwhile, has said a potential return to €3,000 third-level fees “casts a shadow” over the Leaving Cert results day.
Fees were reduced to €2,000 as a “once-off” cost-of-living measure three years ago though this measure rolled over for a further two years.
The expectation was that this once-off measure would roll-over again this year, particularly amid a programme for government pledge to reduce the fees over the lifetime of this Government.
However, Minister for Higher Education, James Lawless said in June that without a cost-of-living package in the budget, fees would have to increase again to €3,000 “as things stand”.
It remains unclear if the fees will return to €3,000.
In a statement on Friday, Mr Doherty said many families have budgeted for €2,000 “given that has been the cost of fees for the last few years” adding that the minister threw expectations “into disarray”.
“This flies in the face of promises made in the election campaign and the programme for government and is a real slap in the face for students and families,” he said.
With the first round of CAO offers due to land on Wednesday, those receiving results today have been warned to remain vigilant of rental scams as the accommodation search begins.
Mary Conway, chair of the Irish Property Owners Association, said it is “disheartening” that such precautions have become necessary.
“But the presence of unscrupulous actors in the rental market necessitates ultra-vigilance when paying deposits,” she said.
Incoming third-level students are advised to “be wary” of accommodation advertised only on social media and to view properties before they pay deposits.
So you have your results and you might have totted up your points on our Leaving Cert points calculator but what now?
Brian Mooney, our columnist and guidance counsellor, has the answers here.
How do this year’s results compare with 2024?


Although no date is set in stone yet for the release of Junior Cert results, the SEC expects the release date to be in line with last year, it said.
Last year, the results were issued on October 9th.
Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, Junior Cycle results were released in mid-September.
The delays in releasing the results have been attributed to a shortage of examiners by the State Examinations Commission in recent years.
Most subjects saw an increased number of candidates this year but Accounting, on the other hand, saw a decrease of 12 per cent from 7,438 last year to 6,534.
Music saw the largest increase in candidates this year, with the cohort opting to take the subject rising some 21 per cent from 6,503 last year to 7,877.
It was also the subject with the highest number of top grades, with 98.5 per cent of higher-level candidates (7,328) receiving a H5 or higher. Some 14.8 per cent received a H1.
This was followed by Russian, in which 98.3 per cent of the 1,035 higher-level candidates received a H5 or higher, however, some 70 per cent received a H1, the highest available.
Czech was evidently the most difficult subject to achieve a high grade in, with 72.2 per cent of students achieving a H5 or higher.
This was followed by Physics and Chemistry (74.3 per cent).

Results will return to pre-pandemic levels over the coming years with as “little impact on students as possible,” Minister for Education Helen McEntee has said.
The minister said those receiving their results this year saw a “really small decrease” in grade inflation.
“While there has been a slight change to the overall grade inflation, it’s important to stress that no students will see their grades decrease. What we’ll see is perhaps a slight reduction in the level of increase in some, but by and large, it’s really marginal.
“What I want to ensure is that, over the years, we get back to pre-Covid levels and there’s as little impact on students as possible,” she said.
Speaking this morning at her former school, St Joseph’s Mercy Secondary School, in Navan, Co Meath, the minister said it is an “exciting” and “nerve-racking day” for those receiving their results.
“Enjoy it,” she said.
Our CAO helpdesk is now live here to take questions. You can submit any questions you have about this year’s process, from points Leaving Cert results, to appeals, deferrals and more.
Our education experts Deirdre Garrett and Brian Howard will be on hand from 12pm to give you quick and clear feedback.
‘There are many different paths’
There are more options “than ever before” for those receiving their results today, Minister for Further and Higher Education James Lawless has said.
“Leaving Certificate results day is an important milestone, but it is only one of many in life. For those who are happy with their results, I wish you continued success.
“For those who may feel disappointed, remember that education is a lifelong journey and there are many different paths to success,” he said.
Alongside the CAO route, he noted paths through further education and training, PLC courses, and a “significantly expanded range of apprenticeships” with more than 70 different programmes available across different sectors.
“We are building an education and training system that is responsive and adaptive to the needs of learners,” he said.
What effect will this year’s results have on CAO offers?
With results now live for over 65,000 candidates, you might be wondering what they might mean for the CAO.
Prior to the enhancement of Leaving Cert grades, between 250 and 300 students were securing 625 points each year. Post-Covid, they have been about 1,250.
Read more from Brian Mooney here.
Ukrainian, which was examined for the first time this year, was the largest non-curricular subject provided by the SEC with 549 candidates.
About 35 per cent of those students achieved a H1.
It was examined in the same format as the non-curricular EU language examinations, The subject was introduced within the wider response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Romanian is the second-largest non-curricular subject provided, with 417 candidates this year.
Subjects: What’s up, what’s down and what has stayed the same?
The proportion of H1s and O1s achieved this year has fallen by 2.6 per cent and 2.1 per cent, but how have individual subjects fared?
In Maths, the number of H1s has fallen from 12.6 to 11 per cent, however, the drop is far more pronounced at ordinary level, with the number of O1s falling to just 6 per cent from 11.6 per cent.
Geography, meanwhile, saw one of the steepest declines in marks for any subject in recent years, with 47.6 per cent of higher-level students achieving a H1, H2 or H3, compared with 55.6 last year.
Peter McGuire has a detailed overview here.
This year’s post-mark adjustment has been calibrated to effect a “gradual return to normal while minimising the impact on candidates to the greatest possible degree,” said Jacinta Stewart, chair of the State Examinations Commission.
“In all of our work on the 2025 Leaving Certificate, we have strived to ensure that candidates are treated fairly and equitably, that results are of the highest standards of quality, and that there is full transparency for candidates,” she said.
Speaking on RTÉ Radio 1 on Friday morning about a return to pre-pandemic levels of grade inflation, Minister for Education Helen McEntee stressed that every student “has seen an adjustment this year, an increase if you would, nobody has seen a decrease in their marks”.
Those receiving results today will be competing with almost 20,000 former Leaving Cert students who sat their exams in previous years. The vast majority of the 19,782 former students applying through the CAO this year completed exams since 2020 and received higher levels of grade inflation.
Asked about competition for Leaving Cert courses, Ms McEntee said there will always be that level of competition, and “in fact, the information I have from the CAO is that it’s slightly lower this year”.
“One of the reasons why it’s important to readjust and bring ourselves back to pre-pandemic levels is that you have even more students that are in a lottery. Because we’ve seen an inflation, we’ve seen more higher grades, it’s actually pushed up the points.”
The Minister added that more courses will be offered this year “where there is particular pressure” including in medicine, nursing, dentistry and pharmacy.

Class of 2025
The class of 2025 is the largest group to sit the Leaving Certificate exams for the first time (excluding those repeating) at 60,937. This marks an increase of 4,146 or 7.3 per cent on the 56,791 who sat the examination last year.
The effect of these additional 4,146 students on CAO entry requirements will become clear next Wednesday when the first-round third-level offers are issued.
Results day: what we know so far
Leaving Certificate results have fallen this year as grade deflation takes hold, with just over half of this year’s Leaving Cert students’ grades artificially inflated, compared with more than two-thirds last year. The drop marks the first stage of a gradual phasing out of grade inflation introduced during the pandemic.
The proportion of top grades gained are down: H1s by 2.6% compared to last year, and O1s down by 2.1%.
Marks were added to all results this year, resulting in 52.4 per cent of grades increasing, a significant drop from the 68 per cent of grades affected last year.
The adjustments were made by the State Examinations Commission (SEC) after exam papers were marked in the normal way. On average, marks were increased by 6.8 per cent, down from 7.5 per cent last year.
You can read more on this year’s results here.