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01st Oct 2020

Some students affected by Leaving Cert grades may need to defer courses, Foley says

Alan Loughnane

schools reopening

She said the fresh round of offers to students would be issued as speedily as possible.

Minister for Education Norma Foley has said there “may well be a number of students who have to defer” college courses until next year as a result of the Leaving Cert calculated grades error.

On Wednesday, it was revealed that 7,200 Leaving Cert grades were affected by errors in the calculated grades system.

Minister Foley has said that no student will be disadvantaged as a result of the error, but she admitted that places on some courses may not be available this year.

She said the full impact of the mistake and the exact number of students affected will only be known when a second review of all marks awarded is completed.

Although early reports suggest as many as 1000 students may have missed the college course of their choice as a result of their grades being downgraded.

“That’s just an estimate or a guestimate at this stage,” Minister Foley said on RTÉ Radio One’s Morning Ireland.

She added: “There may well be a number of students who have to defer, but I have to say it is very early to make that call now.”

She said the fresh round of offers to students would be issued as speedily as possible.

Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday, Minister Foley said the Department of Education had found two errors in the Leaving Certificate calculated grades system, confirming what Taoiseach Micheál Martin said in the Dáil earlier today.

She said the error came from a line of code used to implement the standardisation process.

It’s understood the Minister was notified of the error last Wednesday and another error was discovered on Friday following a further investigation.

Minister Foley said it was important to find out more about the error before any official announcement was made.