More than 4000 local students to begin State exams today

More than 4,000 students will commence State exams this morning (Wednesday) in exam centres across Cavan and Monaghan.

Some 1,947 students are expected to sit the Leaving Certificate in both counties, with 170 students completing Leaving Certificate Applied exams.

Meanwhile, 2,198 students across the region are beginning their Junior Cycle exams today.

They are among 146,553 candidates due to commence the examinations across the country. The numbers of candidates due to sit the 2026 State examinations have reached a new record level surpassing 146,000 for the first time.

The most significant increases are in the numbers entered for the Leaving Certificate programme which are up 9% and in the Leaving Certificate Applied programme which is 6% higher than last year.

The exams will run until Tuesday June 23 for Leaving Certificate (Established and Vocational), Thursday June 11 for Leaving Certificate Applied, and Monday June 15 for Junior Cycle examinations.

The exams will take place in approximately 5,860 main and over 11,600 special examination centres through a network of over 800 post-primary schools, and other venues recognised by the State Examinations Commission (SEC) to hold the certificate examinations.

Speaking before the start of the examinations Ms. Jacinta Stewart, Chairperson of the State Examinations Commission said: "On behalf of my fellow Commissioners and the staff of the SEC, I want to wish every candidate the very best as they begin their examinations."