Dear Minister Norma Foley, Micheal Martin and Dáil Éireann,

We, the students of Leaving Cert 2022, feel that we are being forgotten in this difficult time for all of the country.

It has been a choppy sea for all students, particularly for those of the class of 2021, with two lockdowns to prevent progress in their curriculum. With the transfer to online school and the move away from the classroom, many students were left behind due to multiple issues, such as lack of technology, lack of know how, and family problems. For many students of the class of 2022, these issues remain the same.

Predicted grades offer a safety net to those who need it most, for those who fell behind during the latest school closure. It was announced on the 17th of February 2021 that Leaving Cert 2021 would offer a predicted grades option for those who sat it. This was announced following 4 months of school closure for those students. The class of 2022 have experienced a total 3 months of closure which is so unbelievably similar that it is only right to offer the same treatment to us as was granted to Leaving Cert 2021.

Around the country there are many schools that offer an optional Transition Year, while others choose to keep them mandatory. For this reason, there are students in this year who decided not to complete TY and move straight up to 5th Year. Those students had their Junior cert in 2020 cancelled and have no prior experience of physical State Examinations. To not offer the safety net of predicted grades to those who lack this experience would not only be unfair, but also extremely short sighted. 

In short, we, the Leaving Certificate students of 2022, feel that the added safety net of predicted grades is not only the fair and just thing to do, we feel it’s the right thing to do. For the mental health and well-being of all students, for the equality of all students, and for a fair reflection of all students capabilities.

-Leaving Certificate 2022