Another year of bumper Leaving Cert results before grade ...

Almost 70pc of all grades were adjusted upwards from the marks awarded by examiners, in line with commitments to keep them close to the inflated rates seen since the pandemic.

While Education Minister Norma Foley has promised there will be no “cliff edge” for the class of 2025, the 2024 candidates will be the final Leaving Cert group to enjoy this level of the post-marking adjustments introduced during the pandemic-related disruption to schools.

Almost 61,000 students can access their grades from 10am today, including 4,730 students who sat the Leaving Cert Applied (LCA), with schools asked to support those receiving their results.

The class of 2025 could face a tougher task for college places – if competing against applicants from 2021-2024 – when the phased process of deflating results back to pre-pandemic ­levels begins.

However, Ms Foley has already said that while grade inflation will reduce from its current levels, it will be maintained at 5.5pc at least next year.

About 68pc of grades were adjusted upward this year, compared with almost three-quarters (71pc) last year and just over half in 2022.

Record results were achieved in 2020 due to the calculated grades process, when the exams were cancelled because of Covid-19. Inflation rose even higher in 2021, when students had the choice of sitting exams or opting for accredited grades based on teacher assessments – or the best of both.

The post-marking adjustments that were first applied in 2022 remained in place last year, delivering two more years of bumper results.

The process remained the same this year, meaning grades have stayed at the same level on average as last year, with no further inflation this year.

The State Examinations Commission (SEC) made post-marking adjustments after the exam papers were marked in the normal way. The results remained at the same level on the aggregate as in 2023 and around 7pc higher than they were during the last normal sitting of the state exams in 2019.

This post-marking adjustment process was analysed by the US-based Educational Testing Services (ETS) and quality assured by Trinity College Dublin. The increase in marks arising from the adjustment was an average 7.5pc, compared with 7.9pc for last year’s cohort.

While outcomes vary between subjects, the overall rate of grades received also remain largely in line with the previous four years, with – for example – H1s accounting for around 14pc of higher level grades.

There was an increase in the number of students sitting the two newest Leaving Cert subjects, with physical education seeing a rise of around 12pc and computer science up around 28pc.

Students have been congratulated by Ms Foley, who said the milestone of receiving their Leaving Cert results “brings reward and recognition for all your work and dedication over the number of years”.

She wished them “every success and happiness” and welcomed the announcement by the SEC that junior cycle examination results will be issued to students on Wednesday, October 9, a week earlier than last year.

There was a slight drop in the overall number of students who sat their Leaving Cert and LCA exams this year, with 60,839 candidates receiving results – a drop of 1.45pc on last year. Meanwhile, the number sitting the LCA programme has increased by 8.5pc in the same period.

A total of 126 students sat deferred exams in July due to a close family bereavement or serious injury or illness.

Those wishing to view their scripts or appeal their results can do so, with the deadline for applications falling on Monday, September 2. Appeal results will be issued on Friday, September 27.

The National Parents and Students Leaving Certificate Helpline will be available for students to speak to a guidance counsellor with any queries they may have until after the CAO first round offers. This first round of CAO offers will be issued next Wednesday, August 28, with second round of offers to follow on Monday, September 9.

The class of 2025 will likely be watching this process closely, as they will be the first cohort whose results will not be adjusted at the same rate in the post-marking process.

Post-marking adjustments will still be applied to their grades, but at a rate that will see them above 2019 levels by at least 5.5pc on average compared with the approximate 7pc of the previous pandemic-impacted years. Ms Foley has said this exercise will seek to bring the “overall set of results on the aggregate to a point no lower than broadly midway between the 2020 and 2021 levels”.