Leaving Certificate students have been assessing their options following the release of calculated grades yesterday, with some considering legal action.
As reported in The Irish Times, legal firms have noted an increase in the number of enquiries from parents and staff from fee-paying and grind schools.
School profiling was not taken into account in the standardisation of the calculated grades, in order to ensure that past performances of schools would not negatively impact students this year.
This measure was not taken in the UK, which resulted in a much higher percentage of students from schools in disadvantaged areas having their grades reduced by the standardisation process.
However, some fee-paying and grind schools have said the removal of school profiling is not fair as it negatively impacts on high-achieving schools.
When the decision to remove school profiling as a consideration in the standardisation process prior to their release of grades, Minister for Education Norma Foley said the process would be "blind" to socio-economic factors to ensure all students would be treated equally.
A legal source, quoted in The Irish Times piece said parents and teachers from fee-paying and grind schools were surprised at the low level of top results achieved by their students, particularly given the grade inflation recorded this year.
Despite the standardisation process, which aimed to bring the calculated grades from this year in line with grades achieved in Leaving Certificate examinations in previous years, an average improvement in results of 4.4 per cent was noted across all subjects.
The disclosure of the grade originally given by teachers would be key in determining if there are ground for legal action said Brian Gill, head of employment law and commercial litigation at Callan Tansey Solicitors.
“The irony in this is that many of the schools that have done very well out of the system over many years are the ones who now feel they have lost out on this occasion,” he said.
CAO Round One offers will be issued on Friday.
