3,780 Waterford students sit State Examinations as record participation numbers hit an all time high
Robby Duffy and Lochlann Flanagan, De La Salle College, who are currently sitting the leaving cert. Photo: Joe Evans
On Wednesday, June 5, 2024, across Waterford City and County, almost 4,000 students were expected to begin their State exams.
These Waterford students were of some 136,160 examination candidates across the country, who are currently participating in Leaving Certificate, Leaving Certificate Applied and Junior Cycle examinations in 5,849 main and some 9,500 special examination centres nationwide.
More than half of the 3,780 Waterford students are sitting their Leaving Certificate, who are the first years to never have sat a State Exam with their Junior Cycle interrupted by the pandemic.
The examinations will run until Tuesday, June 25 for Leaving Certificate (Established and Vocational); Thursday, June 13, for Leaving Certificate Applied; and Monday, June 17, for Junior Cycle examinations.
The delivery of the State Examinations is a massive logistical exercise involving the secure distribution of 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 national numbers entered passing 136,000 for the first time.
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," he continued.
Mr Sisk also spoke about how grateful he is to those involved in the examination process. “I wish to offer my sincere appreciation to all those involved in the delivery of the certificate examinations," he said, while adding, "School principals, deputy principals, teachers, special needs assistants, and other school staff, play a huge role in the examinations each year both in facilitating the staging of examinations but also in preparing candidates and supporting them at what can be a stressful time for many."
“Teachers are and will continue to be the lifeblood of the examinations system and we are seeing improvements in our contract staff numbers on foot of our recruitment efforts.
"I am very grateful to the 10,000 or so teachers who will give up their time in the coming weeks to undertake contract roles with the SEC as written examiners and superintendents. Their work is vital to the successful delivery of the State Examinations to the benefit of young people and society at large,” he concluded.
All Leaving Certificate results will be published to candidates on Friday, August 23, while the date for the release of the 2024 Junior Certificate results is yet to be confirmed.
