154 first and second-year students, admitted to Trinity undergraduate programs in both 2024 and 2025 have received inaugural QQI Distinction Awards from Trinity College Dublin this week, in recognition of excellent performance (8 distinctions) in their FET (Further Education and Training) College examinations.
A celebration was hosted in Trinity’s historic Dining Hall by the Vice-Provost/Chief Academic Officer Professor Orla Sheils on Monday 19th January 2026, attended by the students and their former school principals. The Awardees received a €150 book token and a certificate. Of the 2024 entrants, 51 were from Dublin, six from Louth, six from Meath, two from Wicklow and six from other areas. In 2025, 52 awardees were from Dublin, ten from Louth, 12 from Meath, three from Wicklow and six from elsewhere.
The awards were planned according to the Strategic Plan 2025-30 -Thrive, which, according to Trinity’s Vice-Provost/Chief Academic Officer Orla Sheils “has made a firm commitment to widening access to the university”. She further stated that “These awards recognise the fact that excellence can emerge through multiple pathways. They also level the playing field for new entrants from the FET sector, as the awards mirror the traditional Entrance Exhibition Awards available to students who sit the Leaving Certificate, or equivalent.”
The Entrance Exhibition Awards, presented on Wednesday this week (January 21st), “are awarded to the student accepted into the first year of a full-time undergraduate degree programme who achieves the highest points among Trinity entrants from their secondary school.” This year, they were presented to 602 students from 32 counties.
