More than 70,000 students will log on to their Leaving Certificate portal on Friday morning to receive the results of their examinations.
Some 65,326 students took the traditional Leaving Cert, 4,779 sat the Leaving Cert Applied and 306 sat the level-one and level-two learning programmes. These numbers represent a 15 per cent increase over the past two years, bringing us to the highest participation ever in the 100-year history of the exam.
Here are five key takeaways from the 2026 Leaving Cert results.
1) The consequences of Covid are still with us
The fallout from the calculated grades awarded during Covid-19 is still playing out as the Government gradually unwinds the adjustments that saw grades increase by an average of 4.6 per cent in 2020 and a further 2.4 per cent in 2021.
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The results on Friday, in the aggregate, are close to those awarded in 2020, which means the students receiving their results on Friday morning are securing grades equal to those awarded in September 2020 by teachers through the calculated grades process.
Effectively, through adjusting the enhancement downwards over the past two years, the State Exams Commission (SEC) has removed the 2.4 additional increase in grades awarded in 2021, which was retained for a further three years, 2022-2024.
2) No further enhancement beyond 2027
The SEC has indicated it will repeat this process of unwinding the enhanced grades further in 2027, which, if equivalent to the past two years, will see a further 1.2 per cent reduction. There will be no further enhancement of grades in 2028, which will mean the students sitting the exams will, on first observation, experience a 3.4 per cent drop relating to 2027.
The SEC has indicated that student performance has improved by an average of 2 per cent since 2019 and that it is therefore not attempting to bring students back to 2019 grade levels.
Effectively, this means that by not enhancing grades in 2028 and allowing for a 2 per cent improvement in performance, the class of 2028 will be, on average, 1.2 per cent lower than 2027 and 2.4 per cent lower than those receiving their results on Friday.
3) Cost of doing the exam in 2026 will be about 12 CAO points
In 2024, following the enhancement process, 68 per cent of grades were adjusted upwards. In 2025, following the first adjustment downwards, the percentage of grades enhanced dropped to 52.4 per cent.
In 2026, this number has fallen farther, to 35.5 per cent.
Because students at the higher end of performance get a lower level of enhancement, given that they already have numerous H1s, we cannot be specific about the effect of this process on additional CAO points secured by applicants.
We can say that, from 2021-2024, Leaving Cert students got an extra grade in four to five of their subjects; in 2025, three to four of their subjects; and Friday in two to three of their subjects. Effectively, a student in the class of 2026 will have, on average, 12 fewer CAO points than an equivalent student who sat the exam in 2025, and 24 fewer CAO points than an equivalent student who sat the exam in 2021-2024.
4) Winding down the enhanced grades is tricky
The differentials are significant because 55,357 of this year’s Leaving Cert cohort have applied for a college place through the CAO, but 20,527 applicants have sat the exam in previous years, mainly in the past two to three years.
Where competition for places is at its fiercest, this differential in points secured by students who got the same marks from their correcting examiner will favour those holding awards from previous years.
5) Some subjects are growing in popularity
Given the overall increase in the number of students taking the Leaving Cert in the past two years, one would expect an average increase of 7-8 per cent. Subjects that exceeded this significantly are PE, which increased by 26 per cent; Technology, 21 per cent; Polish, 23 per cent; Ukrainian, 18 per cent; and Mandarin Chinese by a whopping 47 per cent.
Many schools in certain postal districts of Dublin have experienced a very significant growth in their Chinese student population in recent years. Ireland’s education system is obviously held in high regard internationally.
History teachers fought a battle following the reforms to the junior cycle to retain their subject as core. They will be more than pleased to see that 10 per cent more students took history in 2026 than previously.
Post Script
Given the population bulge, which is manifesting itself at senior cycle level, the outcome of the 2026 Leaving Cert will only be measured once we see how the 70,411 individuals involved progress over the coming weeks.
Thankfully, the options on offer to these school leavers have never been more comprehensive. More than 40,000 of them will secure places through the CAO next Wednesday. Many thousands more will start post-Leaving Cert courses in local further education colleges, and others will secure places on the new tertiary degree options. Meanwhile, several thousand will accept offers in Northern Ireland, the UK and, in growing numbers, EU universities.
Outside the education system, many thousands will seek and secure apprenticeships in the 80-plus options now available across all sectors of the economy.
