KILDYSART Community School principal, Marian Coughlan-Flynn was particularly pleased with her Leaving Certificate pupils’ maths results this week. Pupils who sat the higher level maths paper this year were awarded 25 extra points.

“Everybody passed. About 98% got a C or higher in honours maths,” the school principal confirmed.

“What I’m hearing pupils saying is that they will get what they want. If the points jump hugely next Monday, maybe we will have problems. But if they stay in or around what they were last year, a lot of the pupils who have received their results will be happy. I have looking through the results and I think overall they should be pleased,” she added.

Although Leaving Certificate pupils can access their results online, after 12noon, Mrs Coughlan-Flynn has found that the pupils mostly like to receive their results in person.
“It’s still the same. People want to come, they want to meet their friends and they want to meet their principal at the same time. A few of them have said they’ll miss the school,” she laughed.

The school principal said teachers become attached to pupils, having taught them for five or six years.
“As a teacher, believe it or not, I’m sad to see them going. A number of them are the last in their family. For them the five years is an eternity but for us it isn’t. I am sad to see them go because you get to know them as young people. There’s a great energy and in a small school like this, you have great banter,” she said.

Mrs Coughlan-Flynn is hopeful that her now past pupils will fare well at third level or on whatever path they embark upon.
“It is sad to see them going and very often you don’t meet them again. I hope that when they go to third level they won’t sit back and think ‘I have arrived’. It’s a totally different system where they really are left to fend for themselves to a large degree.

“I hope that the first term doesn’t fly by unknownst to them but I do hope they enjoy it. It’s really a journey of exploration for them,” she concluded.

Meanwhile, relaxed scenes in Scoil Mhuire, Ennistymon were punctuated with shrieks of delight as contents of Leaving Cert results envelopes revealed some exceptional results. While it was reported that nationally science subjects were a worry, Scoil Mhuire pupils bucked the national trend and pupils of all abilities achieved and exceeded individual targets, with a significant number scoring more than 550 points.

From 9.30am, pupils queued up, mobile phones at the ready, for the much anticipated results and within a very short space of time, it was evident that widespread jubilation was the order of the day.
As with many a journey, the waiting caused worry but the destination brought joy. Principal, Seosaimhin Uí Dhomhnallain said she was overjoyed by the “excellent performances across the board” and heaped praise on “this group of very fine, talented girls who were co-operative and great role models for younger students”.

 

More pupils taking higher level maths

SCARIFF Community College principal, Angela McNamara said the results from the school were very impressive, with 11% of their pupils attaining more than 500 points. She acknowledged all their Leaving Certificate pupils, families and teachers.

The Leaving Cert class of 2013 at St Munchin’s College, Limerick were among the 55,000 pupils to receive their results. A large gathering of pupils assembled at the Corbally College and were greeted by the school principal, David Quilter.
Vice-principal, Brian O’Donoghue said since the introduction of both project maths and the added 25 bonus points, teacher have noticed an increase in the number of pupils taking higher level maths.

“In particular, we are seeing students who may have dropped to the ordinary level maintaining higher level. This year we had a student who considered dropping to ordinary level but instead stayed at higher level. If he had sat the ordinary level paper, he may have scored a maximum of 50 points.

“Instead he scored 95 points at higher level, including the added 25 bonus points. This is the equivalent of an A at higher level in any other subject,” he said.
Meanwhile, staff and pupils from St Munchin’s will pay particular attention to the midfield clash involving Clare and Limerick players during Sunday’s All-Ireland semi-final, as two former past pupils go head-to-head.

Donal O’Grady, the shop owner from Ballingary and Limerick captain, squares up to Clonlara man and Mary Immaculate student Colm Galvin.
Both men have been in fine form this season, with Donal ‘Dodge’ O’Grady lifting the Munster Cup and Colm ‘Lawnmower’ Galvin is in scintillating form with the Clare U-21s.

According to Mr O’Donoghue, the two players offer contrasting styles. “Donal is a very physical, domineering presence in the middle of the park. Colm is a box-to-box player covering every blade of grass,” he said.
Another of Munchin’s past pupils, Domhnall O’Donovan, will wear the number four jersey for Clare.