Junior Cycle Exam

1st May, 2020

Dear Parent(s)/Guardian(s)

I hope you and your family are safe and well.

The Minister for Education and Skills Joe McHugh TD has announced revised arrangements for this year’s Junior Cycle.

The decision was taken following recommendations from an advisory group of stakeholders, as part of planning for the State Examinations in response to the Covid-19 public health measures and the decision that the Junior Cycle State Examinations will not run this year. “In this difficult time for students I have listened to the very strongly-held and well-articulated views of students, parents and other stakeholders,” Minister McHugh said.

“This decision has been made with the health and wellbeing of students, parents and teachers at the forefront of our thinking. “It gives students and their families more clarity and certainty. It also gives schools freedom to decide how best to assess the progress of students following three years of hard work and learning.”

Under the revised arrangements and in light of the exceptional circumstances presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, the work and achievement of third year Junior Cycle students will be recognised with a state certificate from the Department of Education and Skills.

Current third year students will receive a written school report on their learning achievements in each subject. Schools have been given autonomy to decide whether to run school-based assessments and what form they take.

After consultation with 3rd year teachers and following the advice of the Department of Education and Skills, we have decided that 3rd year students’ overall assessment marks for completion of the 3 years in Laurel Hill Secondary School FCJ will be calculated as follows:

Assessment Criteria;

  • Christmas examination 2019: 30%
  • Pre Junior examination February 2020: 40%
  • Assessments/projects/online tests given from 20th April to Friday 29th May 2020: 30%

We thank you for your support in the supervision of these exams and making sure that your daughter is engaging with their teachers. We are aware that this is far from ideal but under the present circumstances we believe it will provide the best picture of your daughters’ academic achievement.

Michael Cregan, Principal
Susan Garrahy, Deputy Principal

Laurel Hill Secondary School

© Laurel Hill Secondary School FCJ 2024.

South Circular Road, Limerick, Ireland.

Telephone: +353 (0)61 319383