AMY Halion, a student of Presentation College, Tuam, celebrates her Leaving Cert results in History, with her mum. Photo: Ray Ryan

Tuam student celebrates Leaving Cert result after missing course by a single point

A TUAM teenager is hoping her improved Leaving Cert grade, awarded on Tuesday, will be enough to secure her a place in Trinity College Dublin which she missed out on by a single point last August. Amy Halion, 19, from Cois na hAbhainn, was left disappointed when the results she gained through calculated grades left her within one point of a Pharmacy course in TCD.
Despite securing 589 points, Amy, who attended Presentation College Tuam, was left short when the CAO offers were issued, with the course jumping 45 points from 550 in 2019 to 590. She decided to repeat her History exam at the school last November, where she was the only student doing so on the day. Over 2,000 students sat the exam across 40 subjects in schools throughout the country. “I found last year so stressful, with the schools closing and then the decision on whether or not the exams were going ahead being left so late,” she said. “I was happy with the results I got in August but when the offers came out, I was gutted to have missed out by just one point. All my friends went off to college and while I was offered a course in UCD in Radiography I decided to go back and repeat one exam in the hope it would be enough.”
Amy’s proud mother Mary said it was very hard for her daughter to have come so close and that once she had made the decision to repeat, she gave it her all. She will find out on Monday if her new results, which bring her points total up to 601, will be enough to secure her a deferred offer for the course, which she would begin in September. “I’m just so happy with my result after sitting the exam, I did pretty well in the calculated grades in History with a H2 but I needed the extra grade to get the points that hopefully will be enough,” she added.