The deadline for the Leaving Certificate ag science project has been extended among sweeping changes to the 2020 State examinations as a result of COVID-19.

Minister for Education and Skills Joe McHugh announced the cancellation of oral and practical performance tests of the State examinations, which were originally scheduled to take place from Monday 23 March to Friday 3 April 2020.

All students who were due to take these tests will be awarded full marks for this portion of the exam.

Completion deadlines

Completion deadlines for project and course work have been extended to Friday 15 May.

Students were originally scheduled to complete these elements of the State examinations on a number of dates from Friday 20 March to Friday 24 April 2020, depending on the subject.

This deadline extension includes the Leaving Cert subjects agricultural science and agricultural economics.

The decision was taken in light of the closure of schools as a result of the COVID-19 virus and it will be implemented by the State Examinations Commission (SEC).

“This is a difficult time for all. Students are facing a challenging period out of school and our decision on this element of the exams is being taken with their best interests at heart,” Minister McHugh said.

“It is the fairest response we could take in the circumstances. It guarantees that no student will score less than they would have if schools had been operating as normal.”

There are currently no changes planned for the written examinations which take place in June.

Online resources

In order to help agricultural science teachers with new distance learning requirements, the Irish Ag Science Teachers Association (IASTA) has released an online resource. The ‘padlet’ can be found by clicking here.

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