The Junior Certificate will not be taking place in schools this year due to the coronavirus outbreak.
Exam papers and marking schemes will however be sent out across the country which had caused some confusion.
However, these papers and marking schemes can be used by schools in whatever capacity they see fit and there will be no official state exam.
Schools across the country will likely ask students to sit the exams in some capacity but they will not receive official grades.
One school has planned approach
One girls school in Kilkenny will be asking its students to sit the exams in May with an online test.
Presentation Secondary School in Kilkenny says it won’t be asking its 140 Junior Certificate students to sit the state paper in September and is instead opting to assess students across a number set criteria, including online exams in May.
The online exam for students at the end of May will account for 30% of their final grade. A further 40% of their grade will be an average of their performance in exams and project work to date.
Students will get a further 20% of their grade, based on their engagement with their teachers since the school closed on Google classroom.
The criteria on which a further 10% of their grade is still being established.
Principal Shane Halahan said: "As the Junior Certificate has been cancelled there is no State based Certification for Junior Cycle this Year so it is essentially school based certification. We believe in the quality and professionalism of our teachers to award grades based on clearly defined criteria and using work already completed to date.
“We as of now do not know when we will be able to return and what format that school will take. Starting the new school year with exams for students will not serve any value to our school community. It is more important than ever for our students in Pres to focus on their health and wellbeing."
Leaving Certificate
Fine Gael TD Joe McHugh said that a final date would be confirmed in a couple of days.
Speaking on an Instagram Live chat with Spunout.ie, Minister McHugh said: "We're going to be looking at the traditional day of starting on a Wednesday.
"Students and teachers will be able to deduct that since we're looking at the last week in July, we're looking at potentially the 29th of July, and I will confirm that in a couple of days' time."
