Number of Leaving and Junior Cert students caught cheating more than doubles in a year

Unauthorised use of mobile phones and smart watches were a big factor.

As reported by Ken Foxe in the Irish Independent, 86 results had been withheld during 2024’s Leaving Cert cycle compared to only 39 the year before.

The SEC - the governing body which oversees the state examinations at secondary education level in Ireland - revealed that a further 12 had been provisionally withheld, and those cases will be decided upon “pending further communication with the schools and candidates concerned.”

It wasn't just the Leaving Certificate exams that experienced a huge increase in deception over the past 12 months.

24 Junior Cycle exam scores were permanently withheld after last summer's exams – over double the figure of 10 from the year before.

The breaches ranged from possession of notes to unauthorised use of mobile phones, or other electronic devices including smart watches, in exam halls.

Cases of suspected cheating can come to light in a number of ways, according to the SEC.

An examiner may detect similar work from more than one candidate when correcting work from the same centre.

In other cases, an examiner may discover notes or paper within the exam script that may have been brought in by a candidate in an attempt to gain an advantage in the examination.

Some of the cheating incidents during last year's examinations were uncovered by the inclusion of “extraneous material” within an exam script.

In other cases, papers from different students were almost identical.

The SEC said strict guidelines were in place for all students sitting state exams, including a ban on bringing in notes or electronic devices.

Attempting to help another student, or copy from another pupil, are also prohibited - as are efforts to contact somebody outside the exam hall.

Between 2012 and 2022, 594 grades were withheld by the exam chiefs after students were suspected of cheating in state exams.

The most common penalty applied by the SEC is the withholding of the result in the subject in question.

The SEC follows the principles of natural justice when following up on cases of suspected cheating.

Details of the evidence available, such as superintendents' reports, confiscated material or items, notes, or work prepared that exhibits evidence of collusion, is given to the student through their school.

The student is invited to offer a response, and school authorities are also free to offer comment if they consider it appropriate. The final decision is communicated in writing to the candidate via their school, and a decision to withhold a result is open to appeal.