How does the Appeals process work?

When they are given their Leaving Cert results your son or daughter will receive an application form for viewing of scripts as well. There is also an online appeals facility if the young person is not available to attend the school in person. The form must be printed off, completed and returned to the school in time for the deadline.

What if my son or daughter wants to view the marking on their Leaving Certificate scripts?

They must submit the completed application form to the school by August 21st at the latest. Scripts may be viewed at the school, over Friday August 31st and Saturday September 1st during set hours.

How much does it cost to view scripts?

It costs nothing to view scripts.

What happens at Script Viewing?

The candidate is awarded a viewing time by the school which they will need to attend as they must view their Leaving Cert scripts in person. There is no charge for viewing. Young people often invite a parent or older sibling along to view their scripts.

What should we look for?

The first thing to look for is a simple totting error on the results sheet. This can be appealed with form APL and means that a grade can be corrected without reassessment of the paper or the marking scheme. However SEC (State Examination Commission) advises the candidate to lodge a formal appeal on the paper also to cover all options. The formal appeal will look at the calculation of marks within questions, disallowed questions and dispute regarding full marking of a question.

What happens next?

A personalised appeals form is available from the school. The fee for each subject appeal is €40 and €15.50 for Leaving Cert Applied. This fee is refunded in the case of each upgrade. The appeals process operates within a fairly tight timeframe [check Key Dates here] so it’s important to ensure that deadlines are met and forms are completed and submitted on time. Oral and practical exams can only be reassessed when a full recheck has been requested.

Is it worth appealing, if in the final result there is no improvement in the LC results?

There are pros and cons to the appeals process.

On the minus side, it means an additional cost at what can be a very expensive time for any family. It may be disheartening and bring additional stress to the young person to go through an extended period of reassessment, without any positive change in the outcome.

On the plus side, the appeals process can help eliminate any doubts or recriminations about the exam result and help the young person move forward to the next stage of their lives. It also gives an opportunity to view good independent grading feedback on their work which is helpful.

The possibility of a downgrade (though rare enough) should also be born in mind.