‘The system is under real pressure’: why do so many Leaving Cert pupils need special supports?
One in four students sitting State exams is now availing of ‘reasonable accommodation’ such as spelling waivers, reading assistance or access to smaller exam centres
Last Friday afternoon school principal Craig Petrie finally got the call he had been waiting for.
Two students who injured their hands in recent weeks were finally approved by the State Examinations Commission for access to a scribe to write down their answers during the Leaving Cert exams which begin on Wednesday.
“It’s a huge relief,” he says. “If it had been any later, we might not have found out until the day of the exams.”
Last week, the school also received late confirmation that two students who had been diagnosed with ADHD in recent months would have access to a small classroom instead of a large exam hall.
“If they had been turned down for any reason, it would have been too late to appeal the decision in time. Appeals can take two or three weeks,” Petrie says.
Published in The Irish Times, 3rd June 2025