merrion street

The Minister for Education and Skills, Richard Bruton, T.D. today presented the first Junior Cycle Profiles of Achievement (JCPA) to students in his local school Grange Community College.

The JCPA is a new kind of award which replaces the Junior Certificate.  Under this important reform, examination results are no longer the only formal representation of a student’s accomplishments at Junior Cycle. Students who sat their Junior Certificate in 2017 will receive their JCPAs over the coming days, representing all elements of their achievements.

The JCPA includes a student’s results in State Examinations, in Classroom Based Assessments, their participation in a short course and any other additional aspects of a student’s achievement e.g. extra-curricular activities. Specific recognition is given in the JCPA for students with special educational needs for their achievements in Priority Learning Units. 

The JCPA is a key part of the large scale reform of the Junior Cycle. The central objective of this reform, is to ensure a more holistic, student-centered approach to education, whereby all students are given the opportunity to develop a wider range of skills and recognition is given to students’ non-academic achievements.

This year, JCPAs will include the achievements of students in English, which is the first subject to be examined under the new Framework for Junior Cycle. Science and Business Studies will be included in the JCPA for Students sitting their Junior Certificate in 2019 and further subjects will included over the following years.

A new grading system is to be introduced for Junior Cycle over the coming years and this new grading system will appear alongside the traditional grading system on the JCPA until 2021, at which point, it will be phased in fully.

Congratulating students on their first JCPAs, Minister Bruton stated,

“Today represents an important moment in the reform of the Junior Cycle. We have set the ambition to make Ireland’s education and training system the best in Europe by 2026. Junior Cycle reform is an important development in advancing us towards this goal. The reforms put the student’s wellbeing and their individual potential at the heart of the learning process, ensuring a holistic education and recognition for non-academic achievements. I look forward to the continued roll-out of junior cycle and to students benefiting from this broader form of assessment”.