Five students achieved eight H1s in their Leaving Cert under new timetable

Today almost 60,000 students across the country will find out what the future holds in store for them when they collect their Leaving Cert results.

This year saw 59,000 students sit the exam, an increase of 3% on last year's number and the culmination of two years of hard grafting has paid off for many with a total of 7,639 students receiving at least one HI in the State Examination.

At the top of the class, five students across the country achieved eight H1s in the State Exams while  235 students across the country managed at least six or more H1s.

The trend for sitting Higher level papers has continued to rise particularly in key subjects such as Maths where one third of students now choose to sit the Higher Level paper. 

In line with the increased number of students sitting the exam, most subjects have seen an increase in the number of candidates. 

However, some subjects have seen a noticeable decline including French, Biology and  Business.

The number of students opting to sit the Latin exam has fallen dramatically from 80 students in 2017 to just 54 students in 2019.  

This year is the first year that any Leaving Cert subjects have been marked using an online system.

Students expecting results in Maths, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, and Politics and Society will have had their exams marked by examiners online. 

The Leaving Cert results have come a day earlier this year following a High Court ruling in the case of Rebecca Carter last year which found that the student wasn't given enough time to appeal her result to take up a place studying veterinary medicine at UCD. 

This new expedited deadline means that students will begin to receive CAO offers from this Thursday, four days earlier than any other year. 

The procedure for appealing exam results has also been shortened with students receiving an answer by mid-September.