Although an irrational fear for most students, receiving incorrect Leaving Cert results is not as uncommon a situation as you'd think. A Leaving Cert student given the wrong exam result has revealed his disappointment over the mishap.
The Dublin student was left disappointed when he received a H3 on his favourite subject, higher level maths. Suspicious, he asked for a recheck and discovered that he'd actually scored 99% in the exam in June.
Speaking to The Irish Times, Ryan Bell, a student at Oatlands College in Stillorgan, discovered that he had actually scored 594 marks out of a possible 600. The 18-year-old had applied to study mathematics at Trinity College and could not believe the result of his favourite subject:
It [maths] has always been my favourite subject. I have taken extra maths classes in UCD, I have taken part in maths competitions across the country, so to see the H3 in maths – of all the subjects – was really shocking. I felt really confident after the exam. It was like a normal maths test that I had always done.
The day of his Leaving Cert results should have been a happy one for the student but he was left shocked by the result:
I opened up my paper...to check maths...it was always my strongest subject.I looked at it and saw that I got a H3. I had always been getting H1s for maths and I had put so much study and effort into it. I was so shocked and disappointed because I was confident I had done a lot better than that...I messaged my maths teacher and I think he was very shocked as well...”
Ryan was delighted with the revelation that he had actually received a H1 but was concerned that if it had been a H4 he would not have been offered his CAO first choice.
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A H3 was the minimum I needed but if, for some reason, I had ended up with a H4 I would have missed my place in college and I would have had to take another offer or wait for next year.
How can I recheck my exam results?
Although the deadline for rechecking scripts has passed for 2017, Leaving Cert students sitting their exams in 2018 can ask to view their papers through the State Examination Commission (SEC) before September of each year. To view your Leaving Cert exam paper it's free and then if you wish to appeal your exam it is €40. If your grade increases you are given a refund.
Once you have viewed the script and decide to appeal, you pay the necessary amount online or through a GIRO. If you find a discrepancy in the exam paper you should ask the Organising Superintendent at the location where you viewed your scripts for a Form AP1 and complete it according to the instructions. The Organising Superintendent will attach this form to your script where it will be given immediate attention in by the SEC in Athlone.
To find out more information about rechecking exam scripts then click here.
