Leaving Cert build-up proves far worse than reality

After six years of hard work, a few months of cramming and at least one sleepless night, the class of 2013 finally took the first step on their Leaving Certificate gauntlet yesterday.

But despite the nightmare-inducing nature of the state exams, for pupils at Ashton school in Cork City, the build-up to the tests proved to be far worse than the reality itself.

Speaking after completing English Paper 1, the majority of students said they had no complaints.

And while some admitted to early-morning nerves, the general view was that the exam — which unlike Paper 2 this afternoon focussed on writing ability rather than traditional texts — was fair to students who were prepared.

“I was more scared because it was the Leaving Cert, but once we went in it was okay because you realise it’s just another exam,” said 18-year-old Ballinlough native Maria Flavin, who is hoping to study nursing at University College Cork.

Her 17-year-old classmate Jordan Cassidy, from Blackrock, said despite the difficulty in studying set questions for Paper 1, there were few surprises in the test.

Among the topics up for discussion in this year’s English Paper 1 were an interview with Irish author William Trevor on the art of fiction; how story-tellers connect with their audience; and tensions “between the everyday treadmill and the gilded promises of life”.

At ordinary level, students were asked to respond to extracts from Des Bishop’s book My Dad Was Nearly James Bond, the impact of The Far Side cartoonist Gary Larson’s work and comedian Michael McIntyre’s autobiography Life and Laughing.

Geraldine Collins, one of eight English teachers at Ashton, said it was great to hear such positive news from pupils, adding that those who did not have such a good start should put it behind them.

“It’s great to hear the students being positive about it, you really couldn’t fault the paper.”