Students cool as a breeze and nerves still intact as day one exams end

THE first day might often be the worst in many things but Junior Certificate students were happy with the opening salvo of the exam season yesterday.

One of the essay titles on the morning’s higher level English paper - I Wish I could Live That Day Again - took the fancy of James Grant and Rory O’Brien.

Both are students of Christian Brothers College in Cork city and they were pleased to have the exams finally underway.

“I was a bit nervous going in this morning, but I feel grand now after today,” said Rory.

He described both of yesterday’s papers as being easy enough, while James said he had covered most of the prescribed material which was examined in the afternoon higher level paper.

Their schoolmate Stephen O’Brien, also expressed general pleasure with the proceedings on day one in higher level English.

But he echoed the sentiments of a number of fellow students who found the novel question in the afternoon a little bit difficult.

“The papers were different to ones in previous years, but there was a reasonable choice in the essays,” he said.

Stephen wrote an essay based on a picture on the exam paper of a man running along a shadowed street.

Other themes on offer included summer evenings and a debate on whether Irish people make foreigners feel welcome.

The ordinary level essay choices also included one on the experiences of asylum seekers in Ireland.

The same morning paper also featured a poster with an African man and child and an unseen piece of poetry by WH Auden called Refugee Blues.

Overall, most of the CBC Cork students appeared to be in a good mood as they emerged into yesterday evening’s sunshine after getting their opening subject out of the way.

But for most it was probably a day they could do without having to look forward to again.