The Education Minister has said a further 6,500 Leaving Cert students may have been given HIGHER grades than they should have got.

That's on top of the expected 6,500 students who were unfairly downgraded by a mistake in the predictive grades system.

It would mean around one in five Leaving Cert students got a false grade in this year's exams.

Education Minister Norma Foley admitted said she was still working off estimates when being questioned by TD Mick Barry in the Dáil last night.