Exam Helpline opens Wednesday 17th August
Press Release: Institute of Guidance Counsellors
Exam Helpline opens Wednesday 17th August to support more than 56,000 Leaving Certificate students
Freephone Helpline on 1800 265 165
As you are endeavouring to make sense of your Leaving Cert results, the IGC welcomes the launch of The Examination Helpline 2016. Hosted by the National Parents’ Council Post Primary (NPCpp), it will open next Wednesday, 17th August to offer advice, information and support to Leaving Certificate students receiving their exam results.
The 1800 265 165 Freephone Helpline opens from 10 a.m. on results day, Wednesday, 17th August, to take calls from students, parents and teachers seeking advice and information on what choices are available to students, and will continue until Wednesday, 24th (see Freephone operating hours below).
The Helpline is sponsored by the Irish Independent and eircom and is supported by the Department of Education and Skills. It is staffed by members of the Institute of Guidance Counsellors who are fully qualified experts in their field. A representative of the grant-awarding body, SUSI, will also be on hand to answer queries.
The Helpline received thousands of calls last year, and helped students to make informed decisions about the choices they faced and their future career paths.
Those seeking advice, information or reassurance can contact the Helpline on 1800 265 165 and speak to experienced, professionally-trained guidance counsellors. All queries on third level courses, such as the points system, rechecks, repeats, CAO procedures, apprenticeships and further training options will be dealt with in a professional and confidential manner.
In recent years, calls to the Helpline have increased which shows the need for the personal touch at the end of a phone line at a much pressurised time for students and their parents.
This year, the lines will be open from Wednesday, 17th August, for six days in total. Guidance counsellors will answer examination result queries on 17th, 18th and 19th, and then help with CAO first round queries on the 22nd, 23rd and 24th
To complement the Freephone Exam 2016 Helpline, Independent.ie will be running an interactive CAO blog on Wednesday August 17th from 10am and on Monday August 22nd from 8am, Members of the IGC will also be staffing this, answering all queries and concerns around the results and further and higher education and career options.
You can send questions directly to the blog itself, tweet queries via #IndoSubmit or send emails to [email protected].
No matter how prepared students are, this can be a confusing and stressful time and talking to a professional can really help.
The opening hours of FREEPHONE HELPLINE 2016 are:
Wednesday, 17th August: 10 a.m. – 7 p.m.
Thursday, 18th August: 10 a.m. – 7 p.m.
Friday, 19th August: 10 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Monday, 22nd August: 8 a.m. – 7 p.m.
Tuesday, 23rd August: 8 a.m. – 7 p.m.
Wednesday, 24th August: 8 a.m. – 1 p.m.