Leaving Cert - English Paper changed to Saturday

DeeFox

Registered User
Messages
296
I'm surprised no one has posted on this issue yet. Am I the only one who feels a bit sorry for the person who made the mistake by giving out the wrong paper?? I've been listening to people on the radio all day giving out yards about him. Everyone makes a mistakes; but what a horrible mistake to make knowing that it has upset so many people.
 
Heard a wee bit on the whine line this afternoon on RTE Radio 1. They had a girl on from the school affected and she was basically saying the school wasn't to be blamed and that there was no point in pointing fingers at the person concerned, it was one of those things. Have to say she was the most sensible person I heard today on this
 
Agreed, but what I can't understand is how it managed to happen seeing as its checked by the invigilator and then two random students, all three of whom have to sign to the effect that its the correct paper for the correct exam.

Feel sorry for the students though - as much as you're not supposed to 'only study for the predictions', it must be a killer to realise that it would've been your ideal paper...aswell as how thrown out of sync your head must be to have things rearranged in something that was to be so structured...
 
The first mistake of handing out the wrong paper is forgiveable.

The second mistake of not immediately reporting it meant that there was no chance of avoiding disruption.

The lesson for anyone here is to own up to your mistakes early and often.

I personally believe that this type of thing must have happened somewhere before and the only reason we're hearing it this time is because kids have no concept of keeping their mouths shut these days!!!!
 
I personally believe that this type of thing must have happened somewhere before and the only reason we're hearing it this time is because kids have no concept of keeping their mouths shut anymore!!!!

That and bebo and twitter and facebook and boards.ie....

Can't believe nobody posted the details on askaboutmoney. Suddenly feel old on this site!
 
This issue was posted on this forum earlier this morning but was locked due to wrong forum

I dont think their is any excuse for the person to give out the wrong paper. As the person in the room with sole responsibility for exam i assume you would read the day and time on front of paper before giving it out.

In regard to the two students also signing for it- My recollection from years ago is the student signing form may have seem the person open package but would not have even looked at front of exam paper to check whether right date and subject(weak checking system).

I feel etremely sorry for any one seating Leaving certificate now. I think this could have more of an affect on a students performance them people realise. I think it is totally unfair for them to be sitting a paper on Saturday which could be totally different or obscure. Everyone when doing revision cuts part of course out and gets away with it. Now would you have to cover every area to cover yourself.

Regardless what happens a bad taste will be left from this exam. Maybe they should have cancelled it and calulated average mark based on paper one only with small input from teacher to say it reflects their yearly performance.
 
Last edited:
Seemingly according to some guy on today he said both the actual paper and standby paper are set by 2 different groups who do not consult with each other so the same poets etc, could still come up on Saturday. One way or other its something could have been done without.
 

Something similar did happen in a school in West Cork -in Schull, I think- a few years ago but from what I remember, the papers were gathered up again immediately and they didn't have to revert to a Plan B.
 
Something similar did happen in a school in West Cork -in Schull, I think- a few years ago but from what I remember, the papers were gathered up again immediately and they didn't have to revert to a Plan B.


Back them the 2 papers were on the same day i think and they kept them in room between the two exams to prevent a outside leak of what was on paper, bascially a shutdown
 
This whole thing about having to "study all the other poets now" because all the ones that the teachers/psychics/students predicted were going to come up have been in some way used-up is rubbish.

It's a little like saying that the numbers 3, 14, 16, etc . . . can't come up on Saturdays lotto because they came up on Wednesdays one. Rubbish, of course they can still come up. They are just as likely to come up again, especially if the fall-back paper has been drafted the way it was supposed to be and there was no link with the people drawing up the main paper.

Reminds me of that scene from The Princess Bride where Fezzick tries to over-think the poisoned glass trick . . . www.youtube.com/watch?v=TUee1WvtQZU

z
 
I'm listening to the radio and it is being said that rescheduling the exam to Saturday is being estimated to cost in the region of one million euro. Part of the cost comes down to the supervisors - it is being said that the exam supervisors (of which there is approximately 2000) will earn €117 per day plus expenses for food and mileage. Nice work if you can get it! Why on earth aren't the teachers at the schools required to do this work as part of their job?
 
Last edited:
It would appear that todays kids are not unique in being unable to stop themselves spreading the word... In 1969 seemingly it only took a day..
From todays IT
Madam, – Lest anyone get too carried away by the evils of modern communications or the falling ethics of students in relation to the Leaving Cert English paper drama, can I recall the old Intermediate and Leaving Certificate in 1969, when exam papers were stolen from the Department of Education?
Using the limited facilities that we had in those days – carrier pigeons, Morse code, semaphore, etc – the contents of those exam papers were transmitted across the country, accurately, within about a day. I remember the 49A bus being a particularly powerful communications hub in this regard.
As will happen in the current case, we sat newly prepared papers, but not before we had also sat the original ones with which we were then quite familiar. It was a long summer. – Yours, etc,
Prof BAIRBRE REDMOND,
Rathdown Villas,
Terenure,
Dublin 6W.
 

Heard Bertie Ahern on the radio on Thursday evening, he did the leaving cert that year. He said that the stolen papers only came to light after the 2 exams(Maths and English) had been sat so everyone had to do a new paper on both subjects on a Saturday
 

I would imagine there would be concerns that some teachers would/could help their pupils if they had unsupervised access to them during an exam
 

I wonder if this was the same girl I heard saying it was no big deal as anyone who had studied properly wouldn't be too fazzed. Have to admit, while I feel sorry for the people taking exams I do agree with that girl. Exams ARE stressful but welcome to the grown up world where things are not always going to go as planned. Life throws stuff at you and part of being a grown up is dealing with it (or not).
 

I also agree. Things change and the ability to adapt and deal with unexpected situations is very important in everyday life and work.

If a student cannot deal with this and they get upset and overwhelmed with stress then I don't think they deserve high marks.
 
I would imagine there would be concerns that some teachers would/could help their pupils if they had unsupervised access to them during an exam

It could be rostered so that no teacher is allowed to supervise a class they taught or arrangements are made between neighbouring schools - it just seems like a ridiculous waste of money.
 
They should have moved the exam back to the end to keep tonight's and tomo morning's time free as normal. Feel sorry for the crammers!!
 


The supervisors are teachers, just from different schools.

So if you teach in Naas, you might supervise in Dundrum, etc.