Last week was a big one for our Leaving Certificate students, with more than 70,000 pupils receiving their results on Friday.
Grade inflation came down by 1.8 percentage points compared to last year, with the post-marking adjustment (PMA) applied to this year’s result left at 4 per cent, down from 5.8 per cent last year.
This meant students received, on average, one fewer grade increase than last year’s class.
Despite this, we heard some wonderful stories of people excelling, against the odds.
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Kayleigh Quinn, who left school in second year having struggled with her mental health, achieved her goal of 625 CAO points. “I put in the work and I suppose it paid off in the end,” she told Jen Hogan on Friday.
All thoughts now move to the CAO round one offers, which are out on Wednesday at 2pm.
We will be keeping a keen eye on what points will be set for individual college courses around the country.
There will be a live news story starting on Wednesday morning on The Irish Times, and our guidance counsellors Deirdre Garrett and Brian Howard will be back on the CAO Help Desk from 2pm.
They can give quick and clear feedback as you navigate college offers and choices, and decide your next steps over the coming days.
Good luck on Wednesday, and please do get in touch if you have any questions.
And remember, CAO points are not the be-all and end-all. Tomorrow, The Irish Times will publish a special 16-page supplement, Smart Choices, which will be full of information for those who may be considering an alternative career path – utilising further education and training options.
We explore apprenticeships, PLC courses and tertiary degrees.
And we try to answer the question: Which courses provide the real routes to opportunity?
