The number of students caught cheating in 2024 State exams was more than double the number in 2023, according to figures released by the State Examinations Commission.

86 results were withheld during the 2024 Leaving Certificate cycle compared to 39 results the year before.

A further 12 results have been provisionally withheld pending what the SEC said is further communication with the schools and the candidates concerned.

Regarding the junior cycle, 24 exam scores were permanently withheld, which is well over double the figure of 10 from 2023.

Numbers only detail those "actually caught"

On The Pat Kenny Show, Newstalk reporter Sarah Madden spoke about the research she conducted in this area.

“For a bit of perspective almost 61,000 students sat their Leaving Cert last year, so 86, or even 98 if it is that, out of 61,000, is very little,” she said.

“But that said, those numbers only detail the people who were actually caught, presumably leaving out those who got away with it.”

Sarah went out on the streets of Dublin yesterday to ask people if they had ever cheated at any point in their own academic careers.

“Maybe in a test, I would have… like, you know, in a maths test when I wasn't very good, I would have looked over at the really intelligent girl beside me,” one woman said.

“But other than that – never - my conscience definitely wouldn’t have allowed me… too much of a goody two shoes.”

Irish exam hall. Credit: AG News/Alamy Live News

Another woman said: “Of course, I do sometimes cheat on exams - I use Google, I wrote something on my hand the last time I was taking an exam.”

“It's interesting, I'm actually a professor at a university in the States, and I deal with this a lot now with AI and writing papers,” one man said.

“A lot of times when I detect that kind of plagiarism in writing, students will say that they didn't have enough time to do the work, you know, to actually take the time to do their research, so they cut and paste from other sources.

“So I think a lot of times, people feel pressured, and they don't take enough time to prepare, and then they are trying to finish, and they unfortunately, make choices that are fast but not necessarily honest.”

Unauthorised electronic devices

Sarah said that the SEC doesn't give details on individual cases, but they have said that results were withheld for a number of different reasons, including possession of notes or the use of unauthorised electronic devices.

“So that's going to include mobile phones, but also smart watches,” she said.

The Irish Times education editor Carl O'Brien that one issue which has arisen in the past has been impersonation.

“You know, someone going in to sit an exam on behalf of another candidate, and that has happened, and that has led to results being permanently withheld, and has led to inquiries and so on,” he said.

Bandon Grammar School pupils prepare to start their exam. Credit: AG News/Alamy Live News

“You've also had examiners that when they're correcting scripts then finding notes that might have been used improperly by candidates in their exam papers, so that's a kind of clear evidence that cheating was taking place as well.

“So you have exam invigilators who are also tasked with identifying any candidate that might be using a prohibited item, and if they do find evidence of that, they are then required to submit a report of the incident to the State Examinations Commission, and they have to provide whatever evidence they have of alleged cheating.

“They will give a student an opportunity to respond, or indeed, the school, if that's relevant as well, and then they will come to a determination there.”

AI is bringing a host of new worries about cheating with it now that ChatGPT is readily available on all smart devices, Sarah said.

A State Examinations Commission sign. 9/6/2021 Image: Alamy