4,787 Donegal students begin State Exams today

4,787 Donegal students are expected to sit their Junior, Leaving and Applied Leaving Certificates today, the State Examination Commission have confirmed.

1,961 Donegal students are due to start their Leaving Certificate this morning, 216 students will begin their Applied Leaving Certificate while a further 2,610 Donegal students are due to sit their Junior Certificate in Donegal schools. 

The examinations will run until Tuesday June 25 for Leaving Certificate (Established and Vocational);
Thursday 13 June for Leaving Certificate Applied; and Monday June 17 for Junior Cycle examinations.

Nationally, some 136,160 candidates are due to commence their Leaving
Certificate, Leaving Certificate Applied and Junior Cycle examinations across the country in 5,849
main and some 9,500 special examination centres through the network of over 800 post-primary
schools, and other venues recognised by the State Examinations Commission (SEC) to hold the
certificate examinations.

Delivery of the State Examinations is a massive logistical exercise involving
the secure distribution of circa 4 million examination papers to the examination superintendents
responsible for supervising the written examinations.

This year sees another record number of candidates due to sit examinations which is linked to
demographic increases, with the numbers entered passing 136,000 for the first time.

The number
expected to sit the 2024 certificate examinations has increased by 1% (+1,127) compared to last
year’s entry figure of 135,033 candidates, with the most significant increases in the cohorts entered
for the Leaving Certificate Applied programme (+6%) and the Junior Cycle programme (+3%).
Speaking before the start of the examinations Mr. Martin Sisk, interim Chairperson of the State
Examinations Commission said “There is no doubt that the State Examinations are a landmark event
in the lives of young people and their families. On behalf of my fellow Commissioners and all of the
staff of the SEC, I wish to offer sincere best wishes to all those taking the certificate examinations this
year and also to the parents, guardians, and families who have supported candidates through their
educational journey up to this point.”

Date for Leaving Certificate Results – Post-Marking Adjustment
As already announced, the SEC intends to issue the 2024 Leaving Certificate and Leaving Certificate
Applied examination results to candidates on Friday 23 August which is in line with the date of issue
of the results in 2023.
Following the announcement in April by Minister for Education Norma Foley TD, that the overall
2024 Leaving Certificates results in the aggregate will be no lower on average than those in 2023,
the SEC will again apply a post-marking adjustment after all marking in the Leaving Certificate
examinations is completed.