NUI Galway Honour Leaving Certificate Excellence

NUI Galway recently celebrated the success of a select group of first-year students with a special ceremony recognising the high points they achieved in their Leaving Certificate examinations. As part of the University's annual Excellence Scholarships 60 students received €1,500 each.Each year the Excellence Scholarships are given to new NUI Galway entrants who got a minimum of 560 points in their Leaving Certificate examination, not counting those studying Medicine. For Medical students, a total of 10 Scholarship certificates were awarded based on the combined results in their Leaving Certificate and the HPAT.The Excellence Scholarships were designed by the university as an effort to recognise and reward Leaving Cert success for the highest-achieving students, and encourage their ongoing commitment to academic excellence during their time at NUI Galway. The awards can be held with any other scholarships or grants, including the University's Postgraduate Scholarships, Mature Student Scholarships, Sports Scholarship Scheme and schemes specific to individual colleges for those who excel in their University exams.Speaking at the Awards presentation, NUI Galway President Dr Jim Browne, said: “I am delighted to present the scholarships to these outstanding individuals in recognition of their academic talent. NUI Galway constantly strives to support and promote academic excellence across all disciplines. Speaking in relation to the nature of the awards, he added “The purpose of these Awards is to encourage each student to develop his/her academic potential to the fullest, by setting a realistic threshold of excellence and rewarding every student who attains that level. It is also a chance to give due credit to their parents and teachers for their important contribution to such success.”This year Excellence Scholarships were awarded to students from 43 individual schools throughout Ireland. The winners represented 13 counties including Clare, Cork, Tipperary, as well as students from Dublin, Westmeath. Galway, Kerry, Kildare, Limerick, Mayo, Offaly, Roscommon and Sligo.