Irish Leaving Cert results
Today pupils across Ireland are finding out how they performed in their Leaving Certificate exams. We take a look at this year’s results, which follow the second year of the new grading system.
There's no notable change in the proportion of students taking chemistry or the other subjects shown – so the picture remains steady in terms of science uptake, following a decade-long slight upward trend in uptake of chemistry.
|
Year |
Total entrants* |
% Chemistry |
% Biology |
% Physics |
% Maths |
|
2017 |
55770 |
17.0% |
61.5% |
13.6% |
98.0% |
|
2018 |
54550 |
16.8% |
61.5% |
13.8% |
97.9% |
Compared to last year, in chemistry at higher level the proportion gaining each grade has remained steady (last year we saw more students getting a 7 or 8 than in 2016).
At ordinary level, the proportion of the highest grades, 1 and 2, is up – from 10.6 to 13.2%. On the other hand, the number of grades at the lower end of the scale has also increased slightly compared to last year, with fewer grades awarded in the middle of the scale.
Overall though, the fluctuations seen appear fairly normal for these qualifications.
What happens next?
Students will receive their degree course offers from the Central Applications Office next Monday, 20 August.
The Irish Times are running a very useful helpline service through their website today, so contact the team for advice on what you can do next, whether it's gone as you'd hoped or not.
Besides degrees and pre-university science courses, students now have an additional option if they are interested in following a chemistry-related path: September sees the launch of new Laboratory Apprenticeship programmes that combine on the job training with study at either Level 6 or Level 7.