Twice as many Leaving Cert students have results withheld over cheating
Gordon Deegan
The number of students to have their Leaving Certificate and Leaving Certificate Applied results permanently withheld this year because of cheating in this year’s exams has doubled to 155.
New figures provided by the State Examinations Commission (SEC) show that the 155 2025 Leaving Cert results have been permanently with-held because of cheating and the 155 compares to 71 results permanently withheld by the SEC at the same point in 2024.
A spokesman for the SEC stated today that in addition to the 155 results permanently with-held, the SEC has provisionally withheld two other results, on a without prejudice basis, pending further communication with the schools and candidates concerned.
He said that the 2025 numbers “compare to 71 results permanently withheld and 43 results provisionally withheld at the same point in time in 2024”.
He said the final number of Leaving Certificate results withheld in the 2024 Leaving Certificate examinations was 105.
The spokesman said: “For context, a total of 65,444 candidates sat Leaving Certificate examinations in 2025 leading to the issue of 437,710 individual results in the Leaving Certificate Established programme and 4,507 integrated results statements in the Leaving Certificate Applied Programme.
He said: “The numbers of results withheld do fluctuate on an annual basis in the context of very small numbers overall.”
The spokesman said that the SEC “would strongly caution any student that might be tempted to cheat in the State examinations that serious consequences can result”.
He said: “Candidates are warned that they could lose marks for a component or all for the marks for a subject; they could lose the results of their entire examination; or they could be debarred from entering for any of the State examinations for a specified period.
There may also be serious consequences for any person who provides candidates with inappropriate assistance under the Education Act 1998.
With the advent of Artificial Intelligence (AI) software, such as ChatGPT, the SEC has provided guidance to school authorities about AI in the completion of coursework.
The SEC instructions make clear that any material generated by AI software will be treated in the same way as any other material that the candidate has not generated themselves.
Asked did the unauthorised use of AI play a part in any of the cheating by students, the SEC spokesman declined to provide specifics of any cheating committed.
He said: “Due to the small numbers of candidates involved, for privacy reasons, the SEC does not provide any further detail about these cases, including the specifics of the incidents, or details of the school or location or the gender of those involved."
On the penalties imposed for cheating, the spokesman said that “the most common penalty applied is the withholding of the marks of a component or the full result in the subject in question".
He said: “Where a more serious breach of the regulations occurs such as copying in more than one subject, withholding of all results and/or debarring from repeating the examination may be applied.
He added: “Withholding of results occurs as a consequence of a candidate attempting to gain advantage in the examination by means which contravene the regulations for the conduct of candidates during examinations as set out in the Rules and Programmes for Secondary Schools. The regulations apply equally to practical and project work as well as to the work presented in the written examination.”
He said: “In the interest of being fair to all candidates, the SEC must be satisfied that marks awarded have been gained fairly and will investigate any suggestion, suspicion or allegation of cheating or other impropriety in relation to the examinations.
“This is essential in order to uphold the integrity of the Irish State examinations system and to underpin equity and fairness within the system in order to enable all candidates to display their achievements on an equal footing.”
