LEAVING CERT 2017 DUNDALK | New grading system proves a success in Coláiste Rís

Those encouraged to pursue higher level subjects by the new Leaving Cert scoring system have been rewarded in kind.

That's the view of Coláiste Rís principal Padraig Hamill, who expressed his delight at the efforts of his sixth year graduates.

"102 sat the exam with us this year, as well as 7 LCA, and while I spent this morning congratulating and reassuring the students as they came in, on the whole the mood was one of excitement."

"The new grading system obviously made things a bit different from previous years, with students frantically calculating their points total via the CAO app!

"But I, for one, have found the new metric to be beneficial in that it encourages students who may be wavering between higher and ordinary level to take the honours paper. The fear of falling below the pass mark and receiving 0 points is gone now, with pupils guaranteed to receive points in line with whatever mark they score in a given paper.

"The subsequent rise in points might put something of a squeeze on mid-level courses, but I'm absolutely certain our graduates will flourish in whatever avenue they pursue."