Exam students urged to stay positive

STUDENTS beginning the Junior and Leaving Certificate exams tomorrow morning are being urged to remain positive ahead of the big day.

The number of Leaving Certificate candidates is down from almost 55,500 last year to 52,050, which may lead to lower CAO points for many college courses after the results are released in mid-August.

By comparison, there has been just a small drop in the numbers choosing the alternative Leaving Certificate Applied, with 3,282 expected to begin tomorrow.

However, there has been a rise in the number of students sitting the Junior Certificate this summer, up more than 1,000 to 58,212.

A number of new syllabi are being examined for the first time, including the first papers on the revised Leaving Certificate history and geography courses. Students in both subjects have already submitted special topics and field trip assignments, worth 20% of the final marks.

Junior Certificate science students are the first to be examined on the new syllabus, in which they have already accumulated up to 35% of the marks through practical coursework.

Junior Certificate higher level students and all Leaving Certificate candidates have English papers in the morning and afternoon, in what could be the last time the very writing-intensive exams are held entirely in June.

There is speculation Education Minister Mary Hanafin may request the State Examinations Commission to hold part of the English and Irish exams in May from next year to ease pressure on students.

But while many thousands of young people may be feeling the stress of study and test anxiety, teachers have advised them to take things easy.

“It is very important to have a positive attitude, an ‘I can do’ approach, then you will do justice to yourselves. Remain calm and upbeat, you are well prepared for the challenge,” said Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland (ASTI) president Sheila Parsons.

She said it is essential to keep a sense of perspective and achieve a balanced routine during exams

“Adequate sleep, breaks from study, some exercise, and a good diet including plenty of fluids are just as important as revision,” Ms Parsons said.

She also warned students against the temptation of engaging in study marathons the night before exams or analysing the papers after they are finished.

The 4,500 superintendents involved in supervising the written exams took possession of the boxes containing the three million exam papers over the bank holiday weekend.

For some students, the exams will not finish for more than a fortnight, as Leaving Certificate agricultural science and applied maths take place on Friday afternoon, June 23.

Almost 4,000 examiners will mark all the written papers over the coming months, ahead of results being issued for the Leaving Certificate on August 16 and for the Junior Certificate in mid-September.