State Exams 2022

Leaving Certificate Politics & Society 2022

The Schools Portal will open again from Wednesday 11th of May at 10am and will close on Tuesday 17th of May in order to upload the coursework.

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Leaving Certificate Construction Practical Exam 2022

These exams are taking place in school on Wednesday 4th May and Thursday 5th May 2022.

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Leaving Certificate Engineering Practical Exam 2022

These exams are taking place in school on Wednesday 27th April and Thursday 28th April 2022.

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Leaving Certificate Irish Common Oral Examination 2022

In accordance with the document, Assessment Arrangements for Junior Cycle and Leaving Certificate Examinations 2022, the candidate will have prepared 10 Picture Sequences from the 20 Picture Sequences 2022. The candidate must give a list of the titles of the 10 Picture Sequences that he/she has prepared to the examiner at the beginning of his/her oral examination. At the beginning of Section 4: The Picture Sequence, the candidate will be asked to choose at random one Picture Sequence from the 20 Picture Sequences. If the title of that Picture Sequence is on the candidate’s list, he/she will keep that Picture Sequence. If the Picture Sequence chosen is not on the candidate’s list, the candidate will be allowed to choose another Picture Sequence until such time as the Picture Sequence chosen is on the candidate’s list.

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Junior Cycle Engineering Project Coursework 2022 - Completion Date

The completion date for the Junior Cycle Engineering Project Coursework 2022 has been extended to Friday 06 May 2022. The previously published completion date for this component was Friday 29 April.

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Junior Cycle Final Examination in Music, 2022

The Junior Cycle music practical examinations will be held from 9 May to 20 May 2022.

Adjustments already in place (Assessment Arrangements for Junior Cycle and Leaving Certificate Examinations 2022, issued 18 August 2021): In 2022 only, candidates will be required to perform two musical songs/pieces.

In recognition of the lack of live rehearsal time that was available to students in preparation for the practical examination,the following adjustments to the performing requirements will be made:

a. Candidates presenting Group Performing will not be required to perform with a live group. If they wish they may (i) perform with a recording of their group (ii) perform their own part with an accompaniment/backing track

b. Duration of examination, including unprepared test: 10minutes

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Leaving Certificate (Established) Examinations 2022; Oral Examinations in Irish and the Modern Foreign Languages, and the Music Examination

These examinations have been confirmed for the period Saturday 9 April, 2022 to Thursday 14 April, 2022 inclusive.

For the 2022 Leaving Certificate (Established), oral examinations will be held in Irish, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Japanese, Russian and, for the first time, Mandarin Chinese, Polish, Lithuanian and Portuguese. The Practical examinations in Music will also take place during this period.

• Examiners have been instructed not to examine more than a set number of candidates on each day. The examinations will be delivered in the normal hours of a full school day, in as far as is possible
• The examinations will be conducted by visiting examiners, recruited and appointed to schools by the SEC.
• A candidate will not be scheduled to take more than two examinations on one day.
• There will be a timetable for each day and while every effort will be made to hold the examinations as close to the designated time as possible, it is really important that candidates be made aware that they will not necessarily be examined at that specific time.
• It is intended to initiate late examinations from Wednesday 4 May for situations where a candidate is absent through illness, for example, at the time the examinations are held. Medical certification is required in all circumstances including for reasons of absence due to Covid- 19.
• Group Meetings with candidates. In light of the revised arrangements for the delivery of these examinations outside of school time during the Easter holidays, it is not practicable to hold the usual group meeting with candidates in advance of the examinations commencing. Information in relation to the 2022 oral and music examinations is available on the SEC website at www.examinations.ie.
• Mobile phones and/or other recording/electronic devices are prohibited in the examination room and that such devices are to be left outside.

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Schedule of Examination Dates 2022

Leaving Certificate Oral and Music Practical Performance Tests

The Oral tests in Irish and the Modern Languages and the Practical performance tests examinations in Music will be conducted during a six-day period beginning on 9th April 2022.

Leaving Certificate Practical Tests (Day Practical) in Construction Studies and Engineering

The arrangements which were introduced in 2018 for the conduct of the Leaving Certificate practical examinations in Engineering and Construction Studies (SEC Circular S95/17 refers) will continue for this year. 

This change, which limits the flexibility of schools in the conduct of these examinations, has been made in order to safeguard the integrity of these examinations. This year the practical examinations in Engineering are scheduled for Tuesday 26th April, Wednesday 27th April and Thursday 28th April followed by Construction Studies on Wednesday 4th, Thursday 5th and Friday 6th May. 

All of the above will be the subject of detailed circulars in due course.

Junior Cycle Home Economics and Music Practical Performance Tests

The practical performance tests in Junior Cycle Music will be conducted from Monday 9 May to Friday 20 May. This scheduling is to ensure that there is no disruption to teaching and learning for the Leaving Certificate music cohort in their preparation for their practical performance test which is being delivered in the Easter holiday period.

The Junior Cycle practical performance test in Home Economics will be conducted during the period from Monday 25 April to Friday 6 May excluding Bank Holiday Monday 2 May. Both of these Junior Cycle tests will be held during school time.

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2022 Leaving Certificate Candidate Self Service Portal Registration Phase Closing date extended to 5pm Tuesday 15 February

The SEC Candidate Portal helpdesk can be contacted at 1800-111135 or 1800-111136. The helpdesk phonelines will remain opend between 9am and 5pm each day, including Saturday and Sunday. Outside of these hours you can email candidateportal@examinations.ie 

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Leaving Certificate 2022 Confirmation of Entries - DEADLINE REMINDER

The portal will open at 12 noon on Thursday 3 February for candidates to confirm their subject entries and levels. It will remain open for this purpose until 12 noon on Friday 11 February.

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Leaving Certificate and Junior Certificate 2022 Timetable

The timetables for the written Leaving Certificate and Junior Cycle examinations in June 2022 have been published and are available here

Leaving Certificate

In 2019 the Leaving Certificate written examination timetable was extended to 15 days and this format has been retained for 2022 with Leaving Certificate examinations concluding on Tuesday 28 June. The extended timetable has been designed to alleviate pressure on candidates by eliminating subject clashes as much as possible. The extended timetable has been designed to enhance the wellbeing of examination candidates by eliminating, to the greatest possible degree, the possibility that candidates will have to take three examinations in one day. However, given the timeframe in which the written examinations are held, even taking account of the extra days, the number and duration of the examinations, and the wide subject choices available to candidates, it is not possible to guarantee that a situation will not arise that will require a student to undertake three examinations on one day.

Junior Certificate

Junior Cycle examinations will take place this summer having been last held in 2019. Adjustments to the assessment arrangements for Junior Cycle have been made and advised in August 2021, including a reduction in the number of Classroom Based Assessments to be completed, the removal of the requirement to complete Assessment Tasks and adjustments to the requirements in coursework and practical performance tests. These adjustments provide for more teaching time in schools.

The examinations which take place this year will see all reformed subjects being examined for the first time with the exception of English, Science and Business. The reformed Junior Cycle English specification has been examined since 2017 while the reformed Junior Cycle specifications for Science and Business were examined for the first time in 2019.

Other than Irish, English and Mathematics which are examined at Higher and at Ordinary level, all subjects are examined at Common Level. There are no longer any second papers in Irish, English or Mathematics. Most examinations are of 2 hours duration while those subjects with a coursework component which is externally assessed by the SEC are of 1 hour 30 minutes duration (with the exception of Graphics which is of 2 hours duration).

The reforms at Junior Cycle have facilitated the shortening of the timetable to 9 days in total with the examinations concluding on the morning of Monday 20 June with the examination in Graphics.

Leaving Certificate Alternative Sitting

The announcement regarding arrangements for State Examinations 2022 made on 1 February involves two sittings of the Leaving Certificate written examinations: the first main sitting and a second alternative sitting, which will be strictly limited to students unable to sit one or more papers in the main sitting on one of the following three distinct grounds;

1. serious medical reasons

2. close family bereavement

3. due to Covid-19 based on the public health rules that will apply in society in June.

The eligibility criteria for access to the second sitting, which will be strictly applied, will be determined with due regard for the principles of equity, fairness and integrity which govern all aspects of the examinations system. It is intended that the alternative sitting will commence shortly after the conclusion the main sitting.

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Leaving Certificate 2022 Adjustment to Papers

A document setting out these changes entitled, ‘Further Adjustments to the Written Examinations - Leaving Certificate 2022” has now been published on the SEC’s website and is available here

The aim of these further adjustments is to lessen the load, as far as is reasonably possible, for candidates both in their preparation for the written examinations and also on the day of the examination. In some subjects the adjustments are in addition to the previous adjustments while in some subjects these further adjustments supersede the previous ones.

These further adjustments apply to the written examinations only. In the case of Gaeilge and the modern foreign languages, there is no change to the aural component, and there is likewise no change to the listening component in music. There are no further adjustments to practical coursework, orals and practical performance tests. 

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Bilingual Dictionaries

The State Examinations Commission (SEC) permits the use of bilingual translation dictionaries in the certificate examinations by candidates whose first language is not English or Irish.

Subjects in which the use of dictionaries is not permitted

1. The candidate’s first language. e.g. a candidate whose first language is French will not be permitted to use the dictionary in the French examination

2. English

3. Irish

4. A language closely related to the candidate’s first language.

Where a query arises as to the definition of a closely related language, the SEC must be consulted in advance of the examination for advice in this respect.

Provision of Bilingual Dictionaries

Where the use of a bilingual dictionary has been certified by the school, or where an external candidate meets the requirement to use a bilingual dictionary, those candidates may use their own dictionaries provided these are free from additional personal notes/notation during the examinations.

The bilingual dictionaries must be made available for inspection by the examination centre superintendent before the commencement of each examination session. There are no circumstances in which the SEC will provide bilingual dictionaries to candidates.

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Leaving Certificate 2022 Confirmation of Entries

The portal will open at 12 noon on Thursday 3 February for candidates to confirm their subject entries and levels. It will remain open for this purpose until 12 noon on Friday 11 February.

During this time Leaving Certificate candidates will be required to register and create their portal account, confirm their subject and level entry details, and add or delete subjects from the records presented to them. 

Candidates will not be able to add additional subjects after the portal closes on 11 February.

To access the portal, candidates will need the following:

• their examination number (The SEC provided these to schools before Christmas)
• Personal Identification Number (PIN). The PIN will be the first 4 digits of the candidate’s Personal Public Services Number (PPS number) 
• an email address and mobile phone number to which the candidate will have regular access to over the coming months

Examination Fees 2022

The Minister for Education has decided that there will be no fees levied for the 2022 examinations; Leaving Certificate or Junior Cycle. 

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LC Music Practical Examinations - update

Measures to ensure the safe conduct of the practical examinations:

NB. These measures may be adjusted in accordance with public health advice at the time of the examinations.

1. Candidates must be masked at all times, apart from singers and wind players (while performing).

2. Singers and players of wind instruments must perform sideways-on (i.e. at right angles) to the examiner. Players of wind instruments may use moisture guards if they wish.

3. Group performers must stand/sit a minimum of two metres from each other and all other personnel. They may not face each other or the examiner directly. They may stand/sit side-by side, back-to-back or in other formations that ensure no face-to-face performance.

4. Accompanists or persons operating sound equipment must be masked at all times and must be seated a minimum of two metres from all other personnel.

5. Candidates who choose sight-reading for their unprepared test may not touch the test booklet. The examiner will open the booklet at the appropriate page and will indicate the test to be attempted.

6. All equipment (piano keyboard, stereo equipment, computer keyboard, mouse etc.) must be wiped down after each practical examination.

7. The examination centre must be aired appropriately after each practical examination. NB: (i) Candidates will not be required to meet with the examiner in a group. (ii) The examiner (and advising examiner) will be masked at all times.

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Leaving Certificate Entries 2022

In 2021 the State Examinations Commission as part of its digital strategy, introduced a facility to allow Leaving Certificate (LC) candidates to confirm their subject and level entry details online (including adding or withdrawing from subjects), replacing the previous system of using individual Leaving Certificate candidate (E7) entry forms. The use of the online system will continue for the 2022 Leaving Certificate.

The online system is called the Candidate Self Service Portal (CSSP).

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LC Music Practical Examinations

The LC Music Practical Examinations will be conducted, in the Easter holiday period using a revised 6-day model to run from Saturday 9th April to Thursday 14th April.

The examinations will be conducted by visiting SEC appointed examiners, recruited and appointed to schools by the SEC.

Candidates who miss their Music practical performance test due to illness will be facilitated in mid to late May with a later examination.

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LC Oral Language Examinations

The LC Oral Language Examinations will be conducted, by SEC appointed examiners, in the Easter holiday period using a revised 6-day model to run from Saturday 9th April to Thursday 14th April.

For the 2022 Leaving Certificate (Established), oral language examinations will be held in Irish, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Japanese, Russian and, for the first time, Mandarin Chinese, Polish, Lithuanian and Portuguese.

Candidates who miss their oral language examination due to illness will be facilitated in mid to late May with a later examination.

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JC & LC Coursework completion dates