School calculated grades available to students

The Leaving Cert class of 2020 are now able to find out what marks they were awarded by their schools.

The information became available this morning on the Department of Education's online student portal.

Students received their calculated grades last Monday and CAO offers were issued on Friday.

Students can only appeal if they believe the school's marks have not been recorded or processed correctly by the Department of Education.

But appeals will not deal with the difference between the marks given by a school and the grade ultimately awarded by the Department of Education.

Students have until 5pm on Wednesday to lodge an appeal.

The Department cannot yet say when these appeals will be decided but it says the process will take place as soon as possible.

Students who are unhappy with their results still have the option of sitting the Leaving Cert on 16 November.

However, details on how this exam will take place have yet to be finalised.

Guidance counsellor and former president of the Institute of Guidance Counsellors Betty McLaughlin said if the appeal turnaround for Leaving Cert appeals is fast, they may be completed in time for students ahead of the start of college courses.

She explained that previous appeals would have involved rechecking and correcting scripts and appealing the grade, but this year the process is limited and relates to data entry and administrative checks and clerical error. 

She said that she did not believe teachers would be concerned about the results they gave to students being made public because they made their decision based on the information available to them and "83% of them got it right" and the grades were not changed.

She added that students can always opt to sit the exams in November, if they need to put their minds at ease.