Leaving Cert students face anxious wait

Anton McNulty

Over 1,600 Mayo students who sat the Leaving Cert in June will have an anxious 24 hours as they await the release of their results tomorrow morning.
The 2016 Leaving Cert results will be available for students across the county on Wednesday morning with the results also available online from 12 noon. In Mayo, 1,627 students in total were registered to sit the Leaving Cert in June - 825 of which were boys and 802 were girls. An extra 77 students sat the Leaving Cert applied course.
The morning of the Leaving Cert results is often one of the most stressful and anxious times for students and parents as they await their points total and calculate whether they will have enough to gain entry into their preferred courses in third level.
To help students and parents, a number of helplines will be open tomorrow morning and for a number of days afterwards to give advice.
NUI Galway is anticipating an intake of over 3,000 new students in September, and a team of specially trained staff and students will be on hand to answer any questions first year students will have.

Hotline
The First Year Student Hotline will open tomorrow at 9am until 6pm and will run from Monday to Friday until Friday, September 30. It will also be open on Saturday, August 20 and 27 from 9am to 1pm.
The National Parents’ Council, in association with the Irish Independent, eir and supported by the Department of Education and Skills, will once again provide a Leaving Cert Helpline. The Institute of Guidance Counsellors are employed to provide qualified guidance counsellors to give advice and support to both students and their parents. The Helpline number is 1800 265 165.
Meanwhile Sinn Féin, Senator Rose Conway-Walsh has called on the Government to increase the Back to School Allowance to its pre-2011 rate and hit out at the ‘punitive costs’ of back to school for those parents who do not qualify for the Back to School Allowance.
“There are many families in Mayo and throughout the country who are on low wages and are left with minimal disposable income after paying mortgages,  medical expenses, motor insurance, property tax and other bills yet do not qualify for a Back to School Allowance or indeed a medical card.
“The pressure on these families who may also have children attending third level and again get no grant is enormous. The overall circumstances of the household including the actual income and expenditure should be taken into account when assessments for support are made,” she said.