LAST UPDATE | 26 May 2020

MORE THAN 33,000 Leaving Cert students have registered for the Calculated Grades system so far – over seven hours after the online portal to register opened.

Students have been registering online since 10am this morning; they will have until 10pm on Thursday to register. Those who do not register for the Calculated Grades system will be opting to sit the written exam later in the year.

When exactly these written exams take place partly depends on the number of students who wish to opt for this option.

There are around 61,000 Leaving Cert students. 

All Leaving Certificate and Leaving Certificate Applied students can register now on gov.ie/leavingcertificate between 10am this morning and 10pm Thursday 28 May.

All students following the Leaving Certificate Established or Leaving Certificate Vocational Programmes must choose whether they are being assessed based on the Higher Level or Ordinary Level exam papers in each of their subjects.

Students will have the option of confirming the level or changing to a lower level, which is an option open to Leaving Cert students if they were sitting a State examination.

If a student is unhappy with their calculated grades, the results of which will be given in August, the student will have the option of appealing that decision. If they are unhappy with the appeal, they will be able to sit the written exams in the subjects they wish to appeal.

If they are unhappy with the grades in their written exam, they can choose to stick with their calculated grade, the Department of Education said.

When registering on gov.ie/leavingcertificate, students must have the following information to hand:

• Their Examination Number
• Their Personal Public Service Number (PPSN), which they will use to create a four-digit Personal Identification Number
• An email address
• A mobile phone number. 

Once the Department has received all the necessary data from schools, students will be asked to opt in through the portal to indicate if they wish to receive Calculated Grades. 

Related Reads

Why was the 29 July date cancelled? When will results be out? Questions about the new Leaving Cert plan answered

“This is a brand-new system that it has been necessary to introduce because of the decisions we have had to take as we respond to Covid-19 situation. It is vital now that every Leaving Certificate and Leaving Certificate Applied student is aware of the new online registration on gov.ie/leavingcertificate.

The important message for Leaving Certificate students is that they must now register by Thursday at 10pm to ensure that they can receive their Leaving Certificate Calculated Grades.

“It is also essential that students confirm their levels at this time so that schools can complete the task of providing information for each student about their expected level of performance in each subject.”

Schools have been asked to assist their students as much as possible but if anyone has trouble getting access online, there will be helpline support from midday today:

• Information on accessing the portal can be found here. Anyone who needs further support can contact the helpdesk at 1800 111 135 or 1800 111 136.
• Due to Covid-19 restrictions the helpdesk phone lines will only be available between 12pm and 5pm today, and 9am and 5pm tomorrow and Thursday. 
• Outside of these hours, people can email lcsupport2020@education.gov.ie for assistance.
• A guide to Calculated Grades and further information on this process is available here. 

- With reporting by Gráinne Ní Aodha