Leaving Cert results arrive morning after graduation ball
Coláiste Chiaráin had 120 Leaving Certificate students, twelve undertaking the Leaving Cert Applied and two who completed Level 1 and Level 2 Senior Cycle programmes.
As the school’s Class of 2026 had held its graduation dance the night before, principal Brendan Waldron said Friday saw a lot of “delighted but slightly tired” students arrive in the school with their results, with some wearing their grad suits.
“We had 40% of our students with 490 points or over, which is excellent,” he said. There were also a number above 600 points, he said.
80% of the school’s Leaving Cert Applied cohort achieved Distinctions.
He said the positive results extended across a range of subjects, with students securing H1s in Applied Maths, Physics and Higher Maths, traditionally seen as intense and demanding subjects. Applied Maths is offered as a curriculum subject within the school’s timetable, along with Computer Science.
He noted too that all students who undertook the Higher-Level Maths exams secured the 25 bonus points available. And whilst there is a lot of work involved in the subject, the extra points can be pivotal when it comes to CAO offers.
Mr Waldron also noted a nationwide disparity in the number of H1s between subjects, citing Construction Studies as an example of a subject with some 5% of H1s, whilst other subjects witnessed 20% of H1s.
Students who undertook ‘non-curricular’ subjects, such as Polish or Ukrainian, did particularly well.
Meanwhile, Mr Waldron was keen to stress that, no matter what materialised on CAO first round offers, there are a range of opportunities available to school leavers.
“The CAO is not the only show in town,” he said, citing apprenticeships, Post Leaving Certificate courses and other further education and training avenues.
And he had a word of advice for those waiting for their preferred choices in the CAO offers: “While students would love to get their first choices, it’s not necessarily the end of the world if they don’t”.