LATER TODAY, 67,130 Irish students will find out how they got on in their Junior Certificate exams.

Results have been posted to schools and will be available this morning. Students will also be able to access their results on the State Examinations Commission’s (SEC) website from 4pm this afternoon.

The results come six months after students sat the Junior Cert examinations. The SEC said “very significant examiner shortages” were a cause of the delay.

According to the SEC, there were 1,270 written examiners for the Junior Cert this year, compared to 1,756 in 2019. There were 2,971 written examiners in total this year, down from 3,448 in 2019.

The Covid-19 pandemic meant that formal Junior Cert exams did not take place in the previous two years but in 2019, the results were issued on 4 October.

This year marks a full return to externally delivered Junior Cert exams for all candidates for the first time since the pandemic. It is also the first full year of exams in the reformed Junior Cycle.

Some 594,000 individual grades in 21 different subjects are being provided to 32,964 female and 34,166 male candidates in this year’s exams. 

The overall number sitting the exams this year has increased by 4.4% on 2019. The proportion of candidates who are re-entrants to education has fallen from 0.86 % of the cohort in 2019 to 0.26% in 2022.

Under the reformed Junior Cycle, English, Irish and maths are the only subjects where students can opt for either a higher or ordinary level exam. All other subjects are now taken at common level. 

The percentage of students who achieved the highest grade possible – distinction – in higher-level English has risen from 2% in 2019 to 2.1% this year. The percentage of those who secured a distinction in ordinary level English has dropped by just 0.2%, from 2.3% in 2019 to 2.1% this year.

A total of 18.1% who sat the higher level English exam achieved the next highest result, higher merit, while 22% of those who sat the ordinary level exam also achieved a higher merit. 

In Irish, 2.6% of students who sat the higher level exam achieved a distinction, while 2.3% secured a higher merit. 3.6% of students who took the higher level maths exam achieved a distinction, compared to 3.3% of students who sat the ordinary level exam.

State Examinations Commission State Examinations Commission

A total of 3.7% of students who sat the common Science exam achieved a distinction this year, while 25.5% achieved a higher merit. 

In Business Studies, 3.3% of students who took the common level exam this year achieved a distinction and 22% received a higher merit.
2.8% of students who sat the common Geography exam secured a distinction, while 2.5% of those who took the History exam achieved the highest grade possible.

As usual, far more students sat the French examination than any other language subject. A total of 4.1% of those who sat the exam achieved a distinction, while 19.9% achieved a higher merit. 
3.4% of students who sat the German exam secured a distinction, while 3.1% of those who sat Spanish got a distinction.

Students wishing to appeal their results must do so through their schools, with the applications to be received by the SEC no later than 5pm on Wednesday 30 November.

Minister for Education Norma Foley and Minister of State for Special Education and Inclusion Josepha Madigan have congratulated students receiving their results today.

“Throughout your school life, each of you will have learned so much and will have developed a myriad of talents, skills and ambitions that will pave the way as you embark on the next stage of your education journey,” Foley said.

“I want to congratulate each and every one of you again on reaching this major milestone in your life and best wishes for your next steps.”

Madigan said today was a “big day for families, teachers, Special Needs Assistants and other school staff” as they watch their own students receive their results.

“I am grateful to our school staff members. Thank you for guiding the Junior Cycle class of 2022 through the process of the State Examinations, and helping to empower the next generation through education,” she said.

Social Democrats TD Gary Gannon also congratulated students, but said that the delay in receiving the results should never happen again.

“This cohort of students have faced unprecedented delays in having their exams corrected. It is disgraceful when you realise that they sat their Junior Cert six months ago in June and are only receiving their results a few weeks before Christmas,” Gannon said.

“The delays have caused considerable anxiety for students, particularly those who went straight into fifth year and were relying on their results to determine if they should take ordinary or higher level subjects for the Leaving Cert cycle.”

He said Foley told him a review would be carried out into how best to increase the availability of examiners for future Junior Cert exams.

“As the results are issued today by the State Examinations Commission, I am calling on Minister Foley for a full update on how this review is progressing and for her assurance that students will not face a similar debacle next year,” Gannon added.

“After all the stress caused by delays in marking exam papers, it is the very least she can do for the thousands of students celebrating this educational milestone today.”