Courts / Kildare / Report

Students of high performing schools 'prejudiced' against, High Court told

Date
2020-12-09
Stage
Hearing Or Decision
Primary locality
Celbridge
County
Kildare

Summary

In a High Court hearing, Mr Freddie Sherry, a student from Dublin's Belvedere College, argued that changes to the calculated Leaving Certificate grades model unfairly disadvantaged him. His counsel, Feichín McDonagh SC, presented expert evidence showing that the Minister's decision to exclude historical school performance data disproportionately lowered Sherry's grades, reducing his estimated CAO points from 542 to 487. Sherry claimed the reduction of 55 points in five subjects prevented him from gaining a place in pharmacy at TCD. The State and Minister countered that the model was lawful, that no unfair treatment occurred, and that the changes were necessary due to the Covid‑19 cancellation of exams. They also argued that reinstating historical data would be inappropriate and could undermine the results of many students. The case remains before Mr Justice Charles Meenan.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Students of high performing schools 'prejudiced' against, High Court told. Procedural stage: hearing_or_decision

When:

Why: This was because Mr Sherry attended a Dublin fee-paying school, Belvedere College, which consistently scores in the top 10% of schools nationally regarding leaving cert results, counsel said. CNI source report

Case subjects

Leaving Cert

Applicant

Places mentioned

Court Venue
  • High Court
Secondary Mention

Topics

Stage Hearing Or Decision

Related court reports

Read the original CNI report

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