Over 72000 students to receive Junior Cert results | Anglo Celt

A total of 72,828 Junior Cert students nationwide are set to receive their exam results today, a three per cent increase on the 2023 figure of 70,727 - the first year that Junior Cycle candidate numbers exceeded 70,000 and an increase of 8.5% on the 2022 figure 67,135.

The State Examinations Commission (SEC) congratulates all of the candidates whose results are issuing today.

From this morning school authorities can access the results in digital format through the SEC’s Schools Portal.

Schools will arrange to print the Statements of Provisional Results, which are in PDF format, and prepare them for issue to candidates. As in other years, the timing of the distribution of the results to candidates is at the discretion of the school authorities who exercise a common-sense approach in this regard.

A combination of an increase in the number of teachers marking the examinations and the use of online marking in almost all Junior Cycle subjects has seen the Junior Cycle results issue date return to a more normal timeframe. The issue date of October 9 is a full week earlier than last year and is very close to the pre Covid 2019 Junior Cycle results date of October 4.

This is the third year of the SEC’s return to externally delivered Junior Cycle examinations for all candidates under the reformed Junior Cycle curriculum. Due to the impact of the pandemic in 2020 and 2021, the Junior Cycle examinations were cancelled for most candidates and replaced by school-based assessment.

Junior Cycle examinations were held in November in each of those years for adult learners and early school leavers only.

Until 2019, only English, Science and Business Studies had been examined under the reformed Junior Cycle curriculum. Apart from Irish, English and Mathematics which are examined at Higher and Ordinary level, all other Junior Cycle subjects are now at Common level.

Some 645,878 grades in 22 individual subjects are being provided to 72,828 candidates this year.

Of the results issuing today, 94% (604,000) were either full or partially marked using the SEC’s online marking system.

Adjusted assessment arrangements, designed to take account of the disrupted learning experienced by Candidates during the Covid-19 pandemic, were detailed in the publication Assessment Arrangements for Junior Cycle and Leaving Certificate Examinations 2024.

Appeals

Applications for review of Junior Cycle results operate differently than at Leaving Certificate. Applications can only be made through the School Authority. The school must consider that the examination result attained by the candidate is significantly at variance with the result expected.

Schools must return their applications by 5pm on Tuesday, October 15. A fee of €32 applies to each subject appealed, which is refunded in the event of an upgrade. Details of the process have been provided to school with their results.

The SEC does not accept appeal applications directly from candidates, parents or individual teachers.

Marking Schemes

The official marking schemes for all subjects will be published on the SEC website www.examinations.ie tomorrow (Thursday), October 10.