Top marks for exchange student Christian

NOT only has Christian Wirtz collected two senior hurling medals since arriving from Germany less than a year ago, he became one of the country’s highest-scoring Leaving Certificate students this week.

He got near-perfect scores in the Leaving Cert this week, at the end of a year in which he also won Munster and Waterford schools hurling medals.

The 17-year-old arrived to study at Blackwater Community School in Lismore last September, originally on an exchange until Easter. But after a few months in fifth year, he decided he wanted an extra challenge, moved up to sixth year and applied to sit the Leaving Certificate.