Students seek help after failing maths exam

MATHS failure was the main cause of concern for worried students who contacted the Irish Independent's Leaving Cert helpline.

More than 4,300 students failed maths this year and yesterday the helpline received numerous calls from troubled students and their parents.

'There is serious concern about failure rates around maths and Irish. There is a lot of worry out there about that,' helpline director Rose Tully said.

'Parents are continuing to call to see if failing these subjects means their child failed the Leaving Cert and they want to know what their options are.'

A recheck is the only option left for students to possibly achieve a higher grade without repeating the year.

'Many students and parents are also querying the correct way to fill out the form in order to view exam scripts, so they can decide whether they want a recheck or not,' Ms Tully added.

As was the case on Wednesday, the majority of calls came from parents, a number of whom were abroad.

'Parents are getting worried about how their children might fare on Monday when the first round of CAO offers comes out,' Ms Tully said.

The other main issues addressed by the qualified counsellors were in relation to point calculations and repeats.

The first query about the Health Professions Admission Test (HPAT) for entry into medicine came in yesterday.

But it is expected that the real influx of focused calls will come on Monday.

'Not many people are that upset yet, but after Monday we will really get people who are distressed as the Leaving Cert results will sink home.

'That's when things will really get hyper,' Ms Tully said.

The National Parents Council (post-primary) service is sponsored by Eircom and the Irish Independent.

It has the official backing of the Department of Education and Skills.

The calls are dealt with by members of the Institute of Guidance Counsellors.

- Fiona Ellis

Irish Independent