Guidance counselling is “on its knees”, with secondary school students missing out on crucial support services as a result, practitioners have warned.

Good evening. Here’s a briefing on some of the stories and issues highlighted on irishexaminer.com today.

Good afternoon. Here’s all the news you need to know this lunchtime.

For students the period between their Leaving Certificate results and choosing a route to the next stage of their lives is exciting but for many it is an anxious time.

Áilín Quinlan talks to two experts and asks their views on the Leaving Certificate. Betty McLaughlin believes that the level of training of teachers and broad range of subjects make it a great system but Dr Raymond Lynch argues that all the good work done by these teachers doesn’t show when the exam season starts. Let us know your opinion by taking our poll below.

Students have been advised to keep things in perspective, get plenty of rest, and eat well during the State exams.

The importance of rest, diet, and parental support have been underlined as close to 120,000 students countdown to the start of Junior and Leaving Certificate exams next Wednesday.

Cuts to career guidance in schools have been linked to a sharp rise in the number of college hopefuls failing to list any courses on their CAO applications.

The cost of students dropping out of college could be reduced significantly if they had proper access to career advice at school, says a guidance counsellors’ leader.

The figures are stark and are about all you need to know if wondering whether or not pursuing a college or university course is worth the effort and time in the long run: there’s a 90% better chance of getting a job with a college qualification than without.

Teachers have called for the immediate reversal of cuts to guidance counselling in the wake of the ESRI report that showed almost half of young people regretted their college or career choices.

Students and parents should stay calm and remember there are a range of options if Leaving Certificate results next week do not match their expectations, guidance counsellors have advised.

EARLY each morning before departing to sit his Leaving Certificate exams, Jackie O’Callaghan’s son would take out his electric guitar.