There will be more options and fewer questions on this year's Leaving Certificate, according to the Education Minister.

Norma Foley was speaking after Cabinet signed off on a plan to hold physical exams as normal this year, with the hybrid grading system being dropped.

While the overall set of results this year will be no lower than in 2021, to ensure the class of 2022 will not be disadvantaged.

In Maths, students will now have to answer six questions instead of 10.

While in English Paper II (Higher Level), students will now have to answer two out of three sections instead of all three.

However full details of the changes will not be published until next week.

An alternative set of Leaving Cert exams will also be run shortly after the main set.

These will be limited to certain categories of students - such as those who experience a close family bereavement, COVID-19 illness and other categories of serious illness - during the first set of exams.

"There will be strict eligibility criteria applying to this contingency sitting", the  Department of Education says.

It says the decision to make "extensive changes" to the exam papers has been taken to give students "certainty and clarity" and the fairest pathway to successfully completing their post-primary education.

The department says it could not come up with a model for predictive grades - given that one in four Leaving Cert students this year did not sit a Junior Certificate.

It also suggests exam papers from 2021 will "form a useful guide to students" in preparing for the exams.

When?

The timetable for the written exams in June will be published by the State Examinations Commission (SEC) "in the coming days".

While arrangements for Leaving Cert oral exams, and practical performance tests, will take place outside of school time over the first week of the Easter holidays.

These will be across a six-day period from April 9th to 14th.

"Schools will have some flexibility in scheduling the examinations during this period based on local needs", the department says.

"Running the oral examinations before Easter will leave students free over the second week of the Easter holidays.

"The SEC has also notified students and schools of additional flexibility in the completion of coursework", it adds.

But it notes: "The impact of COVID-19 continues to present many challenges and present many unknowns.

"The Department of Education will be working closely with the State Examinations Commission with a view to ensuring that the results of the examinations are available in time to meet the needs of students and stakeholders."

While the Junior Cert exams will also run in June as normal for the first time since 2019.

Minister Foley says: "Today I can confirm extensive changes to the written paper in acknowledgement of the challenges our students have faced.

"They build on the changes already made to the papers and notified to students last August.

"These combined changes mean that students need not be concerned that they will be disadvantaged compared to their peers.

"The exams will be structured in a familiar way, but with more choice and a reduction in the number of questions to be answered this will not be the traditional Leaving Certificate exam."