Minister for Education Norma Foley TD has today confirmed that the date the State Examinations Commission intends to issue the Leaving Certificate 2023 results is Friday, 25 August 2023.

Minister Foley said: “The SEC has confirmed to me that it intends to issue Leaving Certificate results this year on 25 August. This is a significant and very welcome step towards pre-pandemic norms in relation to the timing for issue of results.

“Within this timeframe, the SEC will again provide a deferred examinations sitting for candidates unable to sit the main exams due to bereavement or major illness or injury, and also implement a post-marking adjustment following completion of marking, in the context of avoiding any cliff edge in grades as compared to the pandemic years. I want to acknowledge the SEC’s huge effort and commitment to deliver this timeline, including its intensive campaign to recruit teachers as examiners. I want to take this opportunity also to thank all those teachers who are engaging in this important work.”

Minister Foley also confirmed that, as for 2023, adjustments will be made to the assessment arrangements for students due to sit State examinations in 2024. These will be the same as the assessment adjustments that have applied for students sitting the 2023 examinations.

Minister Foley said: “Thankfully, we are continuing to progress towards normality following the disruption to teaching and learning resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. Nevertheless, the impact of the pandemic is not yet in the past. It will have disrupted teaching and learning for the cohort of students sitting State examinations in 2023 and indeed the majority of those sitting Leaving Certificate examinations in 2024 will not have sat Junior Cycle examinations.

“In confirming adjustments to assessment for the 2024 State examinations, I am pleased to be able to give this clarity and certainty to students and I am confident that the adjustments announced today acknowledge the disruption faced by these students as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic in a proportional manner, ensure fairness and equity for students, and are educationally appropriate.”

Minister of State for Special Education and Inclusion Josepha Madigan said: “Confirmation of the date that it is intended the Leaving Certificate results will issue this year will be welcomed by students with special educational needs and their families across Ireland who are busy preparing to sit the examinations next month.

“It both gives clarity and signals a return towards the timeline everyone was familiar with prior to the significant disruption brought about in our education system by the Covid-19 pandemic. The enduring impact of that disruption is, however, acknowledged, and will shape the nature of the assessment for those due to sit their State examinations in 2024.”

The level of adjustment will be the same as that applied to State examinations in 2022 and 2023, but updated as relevant. This announcement provides clarity, certainty and reassurance to students, their parents/guardians, teachers and schools in advance of the start of the 2024/2025 school year. The changes are being made with due regard for the principles of equity, fairness and integrity, in relation to student-to-student, subject-to-subject, and year-to-year comparisons.

Detail on the adjusted assessment arrangements for every subject/ module descriptor in the Leaving Certificate Established, Leaving Certificate Applied, Leaving Certificate Vocational Programme and Junior Cycle programmes will be issued to schools in due course, and schools will be asked to ensure that all students are made aware of these changes.

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