Big day arrives for almost 5,000 Meath students

Tension is in the air for almost 5,000 families across Meath this week as the State examinations get underway tomorrow.

As 4,859 students prepare for one of the biggest events of their lives to date, Colm O'Rourke, principal of St Patrick's Classical School had some sage advice. “The leaving will come and go and they will still be the same people afterwards and will all find their way.”
Some 4,859 Meath students will sit the Leaving Certificate and Junior Certificate examinations in 19 schools around the county, joining the 127,000 candidates who will take their seats in the 5,000 examination centres countywide this week.
A total of 2,191 students will sit their Leaving Certificate in Meath and of those 111 will be taking the Leaving Certificate Applied exam.
Among those doing the Leaving in Meath are 1100 girls and 1091 boys, while 38 girls and 73 boys are taking the Applied examination.
Some 2,668 students will sit the Junior Certificate in Meath, 1,307 of whom are girls and 1,361 boys.
175 students are preparing to sit the Leaving Cert in St Patrick's Classical School, Navan. Principal Colm O'Rourke said: “The main thing is to stay calm and relaxed, to eat well and to sleep well. Try not to be too worried about it.”
Mary Mulligan, principal of St Joseph's Mercy Secondary School, Navan, wished all their junior and leaving certificate students well for their exams. “The students have worked hard and I have no doubt that they will do very well. Keep calm, get a good night’s sleep and have a good breakfast. Arrive in good time, read the questions carefully and stay in the exam hall until the exam is over. When the exam is finished don’t dwell on the paper, move on to prepare for the next one. A word of thanks to your teachers for all their hard work with our students,” she advised, adding to enjoy the holidays when it is all over.
In Dunshaughlin Community College, 168 students are preparing to sit the Leaving Certificate. Principal Shane Foley said: “The College is delighted with the preparation and work that has been put in by the students and teachers, over the last two years, in particular the last couple of months. Despite all of the snow days and enforced school closures teachers and students have worked in a spirit of close partnership to ensure that the students did not miss out. The College wishes each and every one of our students the best of luck for the leaving cert and beyond and look forward to seeing them back in August for the results.”
The schools are preparing their exam halls this week and since the weekend over four million examination papers have been securely distributed to the examination superintendents involved in supervising the written examinations.
The examinations will be held in some 5,223 examination centres across the country over the course of the examination period.
The examinations run until Wednesday 20th June for Junior Certificate/Cycle subjects and Friday 22nd June for Leaving Certificate subjects. The written examinations in the Leaving Certificate Applied programme finish on Thursday 14th June. The results of the Leaving Certificate examinations will be available on Wednesday 15th August. Results of the Junior Certificate/Cycle will be available in mid-September.
Meanwhile, ASTI President Ger Curtin is urging students to keep things in perspective over the coming weeks: “While some level of anxiety is completely normal, it’s really important that you keep things in perspective. Exams are just one small aspect of life. They are not everything. It is much more important to focus on how you are, rather than how you are performing.”