Six descriptors instead of letters, no points, and bands that were redrawn in 2025 — so half the advice online is now out of date. Here's the current version.
The Junior Cycle doesn't use letters or points. It uses six descriptors, and each covers a percentage band.
| Descriptor | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Distinction | 85–100% |
| Higher Merit | 70–84% |
| Merit | 55–69% |
| Achieved | 40–54% |
| Partially Achieved | 20–39% |
| Not Graded | 0–19% |
Subjects are taken at Higher or Ordinary level, and the same descriptors apply at both. Maths, Irish and English are the subjects most often taken at different levels by different students.
The bands were redrawn. The top four descriptors are now evenly spaced, fifteen percentage points each — they weren't before.
| Descriptor | Now | Previously |
|---|---|---|
| Distinction | 85–100% | 90–100% |
| Higher Merit | 70–84% | 75–89% |
| Merit | 55–69% | 55–74% |
| Achieved | 40–54% | 40–54% |
The reasoning was straightforward and widely agreed: the old Merit band was too broad and the Distinction band too narrow. A student on 74% and a student on 56% both came out with Merit, which told nobody very much.
If you're reading older advice — including a lot of what's still online — check which bands it's using. A "Distinction is 90%" page was written before 2025 and is now wrong.
No. CAO points come only from the Leaving Certificate. Nothing from Third Year carries into that total.
What the Junior Cycle is genuinely useful for is the decision that comes right after it: which subjects and which levels to take for the Leaving Cert. A subject you enjoyed and did well in is a far better bet than one chosen because it sounds impressive, and your Junior Cycle results are the best evidence you have.
Worth knowing at that point: in the Leaving Cert, an O1 is worth the same points as a H5, and Higher Maths carries a 25-point bonus. Level decisions made in Third Year have a long tail.
Maths is the subject where the Third Year level decision matters most, because of what waits two years later. A student who holds Higher through Junior Cycle keeps the Leaving Cert Higher option — and the bonus — genuinely open.
We run a Third Year Higher Maths grind in Kilkenny and online with Gerry Walsh, once a week, every session recorded, Mathslive notes included.
See also: the Leaving Cert grading system, study skills and our free resources.