Student with special needs refused extra exam time

Needs extra time to fulfil his potential

A DUBLIN teenager with dyspraxia has applied to the High Court for extra time in his Leaving Cert exams.

Dyspraxia is a condition that affects movement and co-ordination and is thought to be caused by a disruption in the way messages from the brain are transmitted to the body.

The teenager’s counsel, Derek Shortall BL, told the court the 18year-old was said by his school to be unable to complete his exams in the usual time, but the State Examinations Commission and its appeals board had refused his request for more time.

The Leaving Cert begins next Wednesday, June 7.

Mr Shortall said the teenager had been diagnosed with dyspraxia in August. He needed extra time to process information, he claimed.

The school had reported that the student ‘is extremely hard working and dedicated, but his results do not reflect this’. ‘He needs extra time if he is to fulfil his potential,’ it said.

Mr Shortall said the SEC had failed to consider the expert reports submitted in support of the man’s bid, and had failed to take his individual circumstances into account.’

Gemma Carroll BL, for the SEC, responded: ‘The integrity of the [Leaving Cert] exam is exceptionally important to all students. The SEC must ensure there is a level playing field for all students.’ A mandatory injunction giving the young man extra time would be unfair to other students, she concluded.

Mr Justice Paul Coffey said it was a very sensitive case, and that he was unwilling to ‘wield a sledgehammer ‘when a young man was ‘facing into the agony of the Leaving Cert’.

He suggested the two sides resolved the matter amongst themselves.

Following that discussion, Mr Shortall said his client would withdraw his injunction application for extra time but asked that a full judicial review of exam supports be listed for October.