RELIEF AS LONG WAIT IS OVER
MIXED VIEWS ON NEW LC GRADING SYSTEM
THE new Leaving Certificate grade system received a mixed reaction from Sligo students on results day.
Phone calculators had to be pulled out of back pockets to calculate points from the new numerical grades as nervous parents hovered close by.
Speaking to The Sligo Champion last Wednesday morning outside Sligo Grammar School Sara Bourke was thrilled with her 590 points but was rather annoyed by the new grading system.
“It kind of annoyed me to be honest because I liked how the old A1 and A2 were more precise.
“You’d know if you were in a bottom or top bracket of it. This is more general but I guess it’s all points in the end so it doesn’t really matter,” she said.
“I’m really, really happy - I couldn’t stop crying I was so happy. If everything goes well it possibly Pharmacy in Trinity and I think I’ve got ample points for it.
“Maybe Queens, depends on how the points work out,” she said.
She got several H1’ s, ( equivalent to the old A1, 90- 100 per cent) including a H1 in English.
“They must have liked my essay on Science,” she laughed. “Use what you know I guess.”
Her classmate Patrick Feeney agreed the new grading system caused initial confusion:
“It was a bit of a shock when I opened it up and it was just numbers because I expected it to be at least H1 ( not just 1) so
“I just saw numbers and got a bit confused for a few seconds, it took a few seconds to grasp how I had done but I’m sure after a few years people will understand it better.
Patrick was delighted he passed Higher Level Maths: “That’s all I wanted from it so I’m really happy with it. I’m going to do an Art Foundation course in Dublin and then take a year out and see where I’m going after that.”
Junsung Jeon thought the new numerical system was easier to see than the old alphabetical system. “There were too many divisions in the last one,” he said.
Junsung is off to University College of London to study Economics after getting four H1s: “It was exactly what I needed. I was so surprised. I’m studying Economics. I was nervous because I thought it wasn’t going well but then I saw H1s in Applied Maths, Physics and Chemistry and then I just sprinted out to tell my parents,” he said.
Niamh Kilroy felt the new grading system made a difference but was “delighted all the same”. She got what she needed to study Nursing in UCD.
Sligo Grammar School Principal Michael Hall wished every student in the county well.
“Super results, I’m delighted for the students. So far we’re under the impression that everyone has achieved where they wanted to achieve which is fantastic,” he said.
“We had a number of students over the 600. Last year we had 28% of students who got over 600 and this year we think we’re matching that or even above,” he said.
“That’s not the important thing however, the important thing is the students achieving their potential,” he added.