Minister for Education and Skills Jan O'Sullivan today congratulated the 57,929 Leaving Certificate students who will be receiving their exam results today.
The Minister said: “Today marks the end of a long wait for you, your families and your teachers. It is great that so many students have achieved grades that reflect the dedication and effort they invested in their second level education. Now you have the opportunity to decide what you would like to do next.
“Whilst today is a very important day for everyone involved, it is also the beginning of the next stage of our young people's lives. Students have many options available to them, from the traditional higher education route, to the hugely varied opportunities across the further education sector.
“For anyone who may be disappointed with their results, I would urge them to carefully consider all of the possibilities that are open to them - every student can still achieve exactly what they want to.”
The Minister noted the importance of the expanding apprenticeship sector. She said: “There are an increasing variety of high quality, career-focused routes for students who complete the Leaving Certificate. In the mind of some the Leaving Certificate is synonymous with CAO points and university places, but that narrow view does an injustice to the thousands of students each year who chose a different career path.
“This year I am delighted to say that hundreds of students who have completed their Leaving Certificate will be able to consider the opportunities offered by a range of new apprenticeships coming on stream in 2016. Work is underway in developing high quality apprenticeships in 25 sectors as diverse as travel, hospitality, computing, financial services and medical devices. These apprenticeships offer an alternative pathway to a sustainable and exciting career in expanding areas of the economy and I hope that many of today’s school leavers will consider their exciting potential.”
Minister O’Sullivan thanked parents and families for their support of students, noting their hugely important role in helping learners throughout the course of the senior cycle: "I also want to pay tribute to teachers and other school staff who year after year invest enormous time and energy in assisting a new generation of students. Our teaching profession is one of the most highly regarded in the world and today they deserve special recognition."
This year, 57,929 students sat the Leaving Certificate, compared to 56,990 in 2014. Some subjects with increasing student numbers are Chemistry (a 3.9% increase from 2014), Physics (a 4.6% increase) and Applied Mathematics (a 12.5% increase). In Irish, there has been a 7.3% increase in the percentage of students sitting Higher Level. The 15 subjects with the highest participation rates are unchanged from last year, and are topped by Maths, English and Irish. 27.4% of candidate sat the Higher Level maths paper.
Concluding the Minister also paid tribute to those adult learners who have completed the Leaving Certificate: "While we usually associate the Leaving Cert with our young adults, each year dozens of adult learners, many of whom never got the chance to complete their education return to sit Leaving Certificate subjects. There are remarkable stories of courage, perseverance and triumph behind each and every one of these learners and I would especially like to acknowledge their achievement today."
ENDS.
For additional advice and information please see:
State Examinations Commission - Press Release, Leaving Certificate Results 2015