Students in Kilkenny were in celebration-mode this week, as thousands of the county’s teenagers received their Junior Cert results on Wednesday morning.
Over 1,000 students turned out at the ‘No Name’ underage disco in the Hub – the largest ever crowd for the annual results day tradition.
There was a Garda Community Police presence close by, but they were not needed, as the night passed off without a hitch.
“Overall, it was a hugely positive night for everyone,” said Shane Doyle, who organises the Kilkenny No Name event.
“We had 1,000 well-behaved kids at the disco from 9pm until midnight, and there was virtually no trouble.”
In all, it has been another bumper year for Kilkenny’s secondary schools, with largely positive examination results all round. Plaudits for the excited students – and their no less excited teachers – poured in from all quarters.
Principal of Coláiste Pobail Osraí, Cathnia Ó Muircheartaigh, expressed his satisfaction at the culmination of three years’ hard work for the pupils.
“I’m absolutely delighted with our students’ Junior Cert results,” he said.
We had some outstanding results, one or two girls got all As or Bs, but most importantly, overall it was very positive.”
This sentiment was echoed throughout the corridors of Kilkenny’s schools.
Shellumsrath girl, Aoife Mabelson, who attends Kilkenny College, was one of a number of local students who received 10 ‘A’ grades. Success is clearly in the family, however, as her older sister also received straight As in her Leaving Cert in June.
Kilkenny College headmaster Ian Coombes said he was delighted with this year’s examination results.
“We’re very happy overall, it’s a credit to the students and the staff,” he said.
KCK’s results bucked the national trends. The school showed a 100 per cent pass rate for maths at both higher and ordinary levels, while 15 per cent of higher French students received As.
Nationally there were high failure rates in foreign languages and maths. Nearly 12 per cent of students failed ordinary level French, while more than six per cent failed at higher level.
Almost 2,000 students across Ireland failed ordinary level maths, while close to four per cent failed the subject at higher level.
Loreto Kilkenny also showed some great results, with two students getting 10 As, three students getting nine As, and three others getting eight As.
“Everyone is over the moon, overall it’s a terrific set of results,” said Colm Keher, principal of Loreto Kilkenny.
“Generally speaking, the results are always consistent year on year. But this is a particularly successful group, and they have put in a lot of work.
“It’s also great to see students who may have needed a little extra help doing well, as well as a number of girls for whom English isn’t their first language, they all did excellently.
“The majority of our students who got their Junior Cert results are now in transition year. I want to commend the transition year programme, it’s a fantastic opportunity for students to increase their skills.
“To cut it would have been a huge loss to the education system. This is particularly true as we go into a phase of uncertainty in the recession; we need graduates who are flexible and innovative, who can work as part of a team and improvise.”
Across Ireland almost 57,000 students received their Junior Certificate results on Wednesday morning. Generally, this year’s results are in line with those of 2010.
School students have until 5pm on Friday September 30 to review their scripts. The fee for this service is €32 per subject, which will be refunded in the event a result is upgraded.
