Update from the State Examinations Commission (SEC)
There are two important matters relating to the 2022 certificate examinations to bring to your attention at this time.
1. Leaving Certificate Appeals Results.
The SEC has not up to now been able to confirm the date for the issue of the appeal results to candidates. As the appeals process is nearing completion, I can confirm that it is intended that the appeal results will issue through the Candidate Self Service Portal on Friday 7th October at 11am. Candidates awaiting appeal results have been contacted by email today by the SEC informing them of the date results will issue.
2. Junior Cycle Results
The SEC has a responsibility to examination candidates to ensure that their work is marked to the highest standards of quality and integrity and the Commission must be able to stand over the results it issues each year.
There are a number of significant issues which have impacted the arrangements for the delivery of the Leaving Certificate and Junior Cycle examinations this year which mean that the dates for results are later than they would be in a normal year.
Details of the arrangements for the 2022 certificate examinations were announced on 1 February 2022. Since that time, the SEC has been engaged in the planning and delivery of all aspects of the examinations across Leaving Certificate, Leaving Certificate Applied and Junior Cycle. This was a significant undertaking in the current year considering the ongoing effects of Covid-19. Some 131,000 candidates entered to sit the examinations this year, an increase of 6% (+7,000) compared to the last time a full set of examinations was run in 2019. The requirement for increased numbers of examiners across all subjects especially at Junior Cycle has been especially challenging in the current year.
As in any year, priority is given to the high stakes Leaving Certificate given the importance of these results to candidates as they progress to employment, further education and higher education. The date for the issue of the Leaving Certificate results of 2 September was later than normal due to a number of factors including the deferred sitting of the Leaving Certificate examinations and the commitment that the outcomes would, on aggregate, be no lower than the outcomes in 2021. The priority has been processing the Leaving Certificate appeals following the application deadline of 12 September last the results of which will issue on Friday 7th October.
In parallel with the Leaving Certificate appeals, work on the processing of Junior Cycle results has been ongoing, with marking complete in most subjects. Given the priority afforded to the Leaving Certificate appeals, we are not yet able to provide a date for the issue of the Junior Cycle results.
Every effort will be made by the SEC to issue these results as soon as possible and to provide candidates, parents and schools with certainty about the arrangements for issuing the results in due course.
