Donegal ETB Chief Executive Congratulates Leaving Cert Students on their Results

The Chief Executive of Donegal Education and Training Board (ETB), Anne McHugh, has congratulated students receiving their Leaving Certificate, Leaving Certificate Applied and LCVP results today.

Donegal ETB manages fifteen of Co Donegal’s 27 post-primary schools and is a joint trustee for the eight Community and Comprehensive schools in the county.

Speaking earlier, Donegal ETB Chief Executive Anne McHugh said, “On behalf of Donegal ETB, I would like to offer my heartiest congratulations to over 900 Leaving Certificate, Leaving Certificate Applied and LCVP students in our fifteen post-primary schools, the hundreds in the county’s Community and Comprehensive schools and the ten adult Leaving Certificate students from our Letterkenny Further Education and Training Centre (Port Road) who today receive their results.”

She thanked students, parents and adults for choosing a Donegal ETB school or FET centre for their education: “We pride ourselves on striving to provide the highest possible standards of teaching and learning to our students to enable them to achieve their potential,” she said.

Acknowledging the tremendous effort involved by students, she highlighted the support provided by their parents, families and teachers in helping them through the whole experience, while also wishing everyone applying to further their studies or planning to go directly into employment the best of luck.

This year students benefitted from a postmarking adjustment for the final time as many of the class of 2024 did not have the opportunity to sit Junior Cycle examinations.

This follows Minister Foley’s confirmation in April that the process of returning Leaving Cert outcomes to pre-pandemic levels will begin for 2025 students and will be a gradual process, in line with her commitment that there would be no cliff edge in terms of a return to pre-pandemic outcomes.

Ms. McHugh added that she was particularly pleased that the date for the release of the results had been brought forward this year as students and their families need as much time as possible to make arrangements for post-secondary school options, of which there are many.

“As students enter this next phase of life against the backdrop of a world which is changing so quickly from year to year, it is vital that if students feel that they would like to look again at their choices, they should seek advice from the wide range of sources that are available to them,” she said.

“This includes family, friends, guidance counsellors and their own research. Our young people have learned about adapting quickly to new ways of working in the recent past and they have learned to be creative and, most of all, resilient. This will stand them in good stead as they move to the next stage of their lives.”

She reminded students that in terms of progression, “Donegal ETB’s Further Education and Training (FET) Service offers a wide range of courses to meet progression needs. There are also many opportunities to earn and learn through our FET Service – students do not have to go away to other parts of the country to achieve their dreams. These include apprenticeships, Post-Leaving Certificate (PLC) courses, traineeships and a wide range of other full-time training courses available through our FET Service. Tertiary degrees are also available, enabling students to start their degree with us here in Letterkenny and then progress to ATU to finish it.”

Information on further education and training (FET) courses provided by Donegal ETB can be found in their newly published 2024-2025 FET Prospectus available on their website here, and on their website course finder www.donegaletb.ie/fetcoursefinder. Information on tertiary degrees is available at www.nto.ie.

Explanatory information on all FET areas, including apprenticeships, can be found in the ‘FET Programmes Explained’ section of the ETB’s website – https://www.donegaletb.ie/further-education-training/fet-programmes-explained/ and follow Donegal ETB’s social media accounts (Facebook, Instagram and X/Twitter) for updates.

The Chief Executive also pointed out that for those students who feel that they did not achieve the results they wanted, there are several options to choose from. They should go through these options with the school or centre Guidance Counsellor.

“Donegal ETB also provides learning opportunities through our Youthreach programme in our six centres across the county for young people aged 16-20 years for whom the Leaving Cert has not worked out,” she said.

She concluded by reminding students that, “There are so many different ways to achieve your goals and being creative in mapping your path is an excellent learning experience in itself.”