Over 60,000 Leaving Cert students register on calculated grades portal after exams are cancelled

Students have the option of Calculated Grades which they can use to progress higher education or to work but will also be allowed to sit the exams at a later stage in the year if they choose

Over 60,000 Leaving Cert students across the country have signed up to the new calculated grades portal after exams were called off due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Figures released by the Department of Education of showed that a total of 60,032 school goers signed up to the portal by the deadline today - which would have been the last day of school for many.

Speaking on students missing out on their final days of school Minister for Education Joe McHugh said: “I am conscious that you have not had a chance to have the usual rite of passage and have had a different finish to your years of schooling than any of us expected.

"But you have worked hard, and now you have exciting futures ahead of you as you move on to the next stage of your lives.

“Thank you for all of your efforts and hard work and congratulations on all you have achieved.  And thank you too for the important role you have played and will continue to play in stopping the spread of Covid-19.”

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Students have the option of Calculated Grades which they can use to progress to further or higher education or to work but will also be allowed to sit the exams at a later stage in the year if they choose.

The department added that number of people who signed up to the port is over 98% of the total of 61,029 who had been expected to sit the Leaving Cert exams in 2020.

Under the new system students set to receive calculated grades for the first time based on teachers' estimates.

Teachers will be asked to provide an estimated percentage mark for each student for each subject.

The Department accepted there are some "outstanding queries in the portal's helpdesk system", adding that those are being worked through.

A statement said: "The helpdesk will continue to engage with those students over the coming days.

"The Department will continue to engage with schools over the coming weeks in an effort to establish why some students may not have registered on the portal.

"For students, the next stage of the process will be later in the summer."

"It is hoped that the Calculated Grades will issue as close as possible to the usual timeframe for examination results".