Top marks: Leaving Cert grades see massive 4.4pc surge but fears remain over numbers applying for college

'Be proud of your results today.' (stock photo)

Katherine Donnelly

The Leaving Cert class of 2020 is celebrating the best results day ever, with average grade inflation of 4.4pc after teachers assessed their own pupils when the exams were cancelled because of Covid-19.

The increase in grade values would have been greater had the teachers’ generosity not been curbed by the process set up to keep the national results picture broadly comparable with previous years.