Leaving Cert Grades don’t define your worth – chaplain

Regardless of what results young people have received in their Leaving Cert exams this week, it’s important to remember that grades don’t define one’s worth, an Irish chaplain has said.

Tens of thousands of students received their Leaving Certificate results on Tuesday and around 58,787 people are awaiting the release of CAO offers today.

Speaking about the distress that an unexpected or disheartening exam result can cause, Br Martin Bennett, OFM Cap. – who teaches in Rochestown, Cork – said that while grades are important, “life is much more than that”.

“From the Christian point of view, we all have intrinsic value, we’re more than the sum of our parts,” he said, adding that if somebody is disturbed by their results, they should talk to family and friends to gain “a bit of perspective” rather than remaining isolated.

The Youth Information section of Crosscare, the social services arm of the Dublin Archdiocese, has published a guide, Leaving Cert 2019 – What Next. The guide is for all those who completed the state examinations earlier this summer and and awaiting CAO offers.