More than 11,000 Leaving Certificate students obtained their results by telephone this year as part of the new service offered by the Department of Education.
Most of the remaining 52,000 students are understood to have taken the traditional course of collecting results from their school. The tension of awaiting the results appears to have got the better of most. Some 4,000 used the phonelink service in the first hour. Another 4,000 rang during the next 1 1/2 hours. The Department said a substantial number of students phoned from abroad.
According to teachers and students who contacted The Irish Times, more pupils would have used the service if it had been available earlier than midday. Unlike the phone service, most students collected their results between 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. at their school.
Despite the frantic activity in the first few hours, a substantial number of students phoned the number (1530 719 808) later in the afternoon. To access the service students have to use their exam number and a personal identification number sent to them by their school.
The phone service was provided by Phonovation Ltd. Its software translated the exams data provided by the Department to an automated voice answering service which cost 26p per minute.
It will remain open until midnight today. The service for those abroad is also available until then at 353 1 2144303.
Because of the large numbers of users, the Minister for Education, Dr Woods, said the service would continue in future years. There is also a possibility, according to Department sources, that students will be able to get their exam results over the Internet in the future.
The next big day for students is Tuesday when offers are made by the Central Applications Office. While there may be some reductions in smaller, less popular courses, the high points courses at universities and institutes of technology are not expected to drop considerably.
Emmet Oliver can be reached at eoliver@irish-times.ie