LC2022 - Important update from Minister Foley Feb 1st 2022

Following a Government decision today, Minister for Education Norma Foley TD has announced extensive changes to the state examinations for 2022.

To take into account the disruption to teaching and learning experienced by the Leaving Certificate class of 2022, extensive changes will be made to the written Leaving Certificate 2022 examinations. In addition, the Minister has announced that the overall set of results in 2022 will be no lower than in 2021, ensuring that the class of 2022 will not be disadvantaged. The Junior Cycle examinations will run in June as normal for the first time since 2019.

The Minister attended a meeting of the advisory group on state examinations this morning and advised of these changes.

The decision to make the extensive changes to the examination papers has been taken to provide the Leaving Certificate students of 2022 with certainty and clarity and will provide the fairest pathway to successfully completing their post-primary education and enabling them to progress to further and higher education and training, apprenticeships and the world of work.

Full details of the extensive changes made to the examinations will be published next week on gov.ie/Leavingcertificate and the on SEC website www.examinations.ie , and notified to schools who will communicate this to students. The examination papers from 2021 will form a useful guide to students in preparing for the examinations and teachers assisting them in their preparations.

Minister Foley said:

An alternative set of Leaving Certificate examinations will be run in 2022, shortly following the main set of examinations. These examinations will be limited to certain categories of students, such as those who experience a close family bereavement, COVID-19 illness and certain other categories of serious illness, during the first examination period. There will be strict eligibility criteria applying to this contingency sitting.

Junior Cycle examinations will also take place this summer. Adjustments to the assessment arrangements for Junior Cycle have been made and advised in August 2021, including a reduction in the number of Classroom Based Assessments to be completed, the removal of the requirement to complete Assessment Tasks and adjustments to the requirements in coursework and practical performance tests. These adjustments provide for more teaching time in schools.

The timetable for the written Leaving Certificate and Junior Cycle examinations in June will be published by the State Examinations Commission in the coming days, following engagement with stakeholders. The arrangements for Leaving Certificate Oral Examinations in Irish and the Modern Foreign Languages and the practical performance tests in Leaving Certificate Music are as advised late last year.

These examinations will take place outside of school time over the first week of the school Easter holidays, with the examinations running in schools during the six-day period Saturday 9 April to Thursday 14 April inclusive. Working with the State Examinations Commission (SEC), and the SEC examiners assigned to the school in each subject, schools will have some flexibility in scheduling the examinations during this period based on local needs.

Running the oral examinations before Easter will leave students free over the second week of the Easter holidays. The SEC has also notified students and schools of additional flexibility in the completion of coursework.

All aspects of staging the State examinations will be guided by public health advice and schools will be supported and given clear guidance on the staging of the examinations.