Over 70,000 students get Leaving Cert results
Students across Cork are anxiously awaiting the results of the 2026 Leaving Certificate examination.
70,411 students across Ireland are accessing their results today, Friday 21 August. Results were made available by the State Examinations Commission (SEC) from 10am this morning through the SECs secure portal.
This is the highest number of students taking the Leaving Certificate exam on record, an increase of 7.6%.
A total of 470,277 exam papers were graded by the SEC.
Eight students at Christian Brothers College have received the maximum number of points in their exams. Two students have achieved eight H1 grades, while three students were awarded seven H1s.
A total of 150 students received their results today in the school, with 16 students overall obtaining over 600 points.
Over 70% of the exam papers graded were for Higher Level, the highest on record.
This is also the first year that students who completed the Leaving Certificate Established, Applied, and Vocational Programme exams will be able to access their results at the same time as their Leaving Certificate classmates.
Minister for Education and Youth Hildegard Naughton “warmly congratulated” the 70,411 students across the country who received their results.
“Today marks the culmination of years of hard work, dedication and challenges overcome. I hope you take the time to celebrate this achievement, to reflect on everything you have accomplished, the friendships and memories you have made and the contribution you have made to your school and wider community,” she said.
She also encouraged students to make use of supports available for those receiving their results.
“As you look ahead, there are many different routes available to you and more opportunities than ever to find a pathway that suits your ambitions, interests and talents.
“Whether your next step is further or higher education, an apprenticeship, employment or another pathway, support is available to help you continue to learn, develop and achieve your goals,” she said.
The National Parents and Students Leaving Certificate Helpline will be available free of charge from 21 August. Experienced guidance counsellors will be on hand to provide live support.
Grade inflation
Students receiving their results today will also be benefiting from grade inflations put in place as a result of the disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Of the 470,277 exam papers graded by the SEC, 35.5% had their grade increased following the application of post-marking adjustment (PMA).
However, this has been gradually scaled down since last year. Students who sit their exams in 2027 will be the last to have their grades inflated in any way.
Despite this, approximately 20,000 students who sat their exams in 2021 will have an advantage over the 2026 cohort when applying for CAO places.
This year, there were 88,817 applications made to the CAO. 77,739 of these were for Level 8 courses, while 31,749 were for Level 6 and 7 courses.
A further 13,870 applications were made under Disability Access Route to Education (DARE), while 8,107 were made under Higher Education Access Route (HEAR).