‘What we have is the best possible option’ – CBS Principal
FOR CBS principal Pat Rossiter the decision to apply calculated grades to Leaving Cert students – with the option for anyone dissatisfied with their results to sit the exams later in the year - is the fairest result possible.
Mr Rossiter said the threestep process, which includes an option to appeal the calculated result, was very well thought through.
He welcomed the appearance of education chief inspector Harold Hislop at the announcement, saying he is a very well respected figure in the country’s education system.
‘It’s clear now that they have been looking at this for a number of weeks. You may query how they handled the Junior Cert but when you see the unions, the parents, principals, boards of management and the teachers working together, that’s encouraging.’
He said 79 per cent of students were happy to go along with a calculated grades system, adding that there are still 21 per cent of students who would have preferred to sit their exams because they don’t trust the system.
Mr Rossiter said the confusion of the weeks leading up to the announcement wasn’t helpful, adding that students were ‘ tipping along’, but lacked clarity about the process.
‘Now there is clarity. If not [for this decision] they would be sitting their exams in 11 weeks time. If we had to do that we all would have worked away at a nice pace and would have built it up again knowing full well there were serious health reservations. They have bitten the bullet now. It would not have been safe to be in here in late July, early August and there wouldn’t have been a chance in hell of the kids coming back in for two weeks. The minister was very keen to have the Leaving Cert happen but he has bowed to reason.’
Mr Rossiter said the plan is not ideal.
‘I still have reservations about it since they are putting a serious onus on the management of schools.’
He addressed students at an assembly meeting on Friday night through Zoom and urged them to take time to reflect on what had happened and to be calm.
He said many students were submitting work even on Thursday night, hours before the expected announcement that the Leaving Cert was to be cancelled. ‘ There are still a lot of questions to be answered. If you want to do the Leaving Cert by the time you get around to it the points you get will only be counted for the following year. I suspect that people will accept this as an alternative. A number of them will probably repeat the year and go for it next year. We just don’t know.
‘What we have is probably the best possible option. Some others would say let them have their first choice on the CAO but in certain courses like Medicine that wouldn’t work. The number of foreign students coming here next year will be small.’
Mr Rossiter praised what he described as the ‘fantastic maturity’ shown by everyone involved in the process. ‘We will get this done.’
He said the grading of students will ultimately be decided upon by principals, in consultation with teachers. ‘Management sign off on it which puts huge pressure on us.’
He said the Leaving Cert is a test of knowledge, adding that students will be marked based on their performance in class tests, Mock exams and other factors.
He said students’ mental health is fragile presently, adding that they have been brilliant working from home, often in situations where wi-fi has been poor. Some students contacted the school’s guidance counsellor and students support team.
Mr Rossiter said: ‘I am so proud of my staff. This wasn’t a case of going home and sitting down and relaxing. They are doing ten times the work and stuff is coming in at all times of the day. The students are in their own houses, trying to do their best. I am sure that will ensure they have more resilience in college.’
He said some students improve dramatically in the weeks and days prior to the Leaving Cert, adding that he expects teachers will be able to start preparing the results in the coming weeks and have them finalised for July.