Sweet scent of Leaving Cert success for the youngest Rose

The picturesque Lough Rynn Castle awoke to the sound of screaming yesterday as a bunch of fresh-faced Roses were overwhelmed by the sweet smell of success — the youngest among them had just received her Leaving Certificate results and no one could quite contain their joy.

“I’m really, really happy, I’m actually over the moon,” said Wicklow Rose Megan Swart who, at just 18 years old, is the youngest contestant the Rose of Tralee has ever seen.

“The girls I was staying with came into my room really early asking did I get my results and the minute they came in, my principal had text me the results and all I could see was, ‘You should be very proud of yourself’ and I was like ‘Oh my goodness!’ There were other girls who woke up to our big screams, everybody was like, ‘Is everything ok?!’ but they were good screams.”

Megan, who cites business as her favourite subject, said she was most nervous about how she would do in maths, but got a better result than she thought she would.

The young Rose said she now has more than enough points to study international hospitality management at Dublin Institute of Technology and is looking forward to the first round of offers.

Since Megan is currently touring the country with the other Rose of Tralee contestants, she is unable to celebrate her results with the rest of her class.

“I was kind of like, ‘Oh I’m missing all the craic’ but do you know what, actually, I’m in Leitrim at the moment at this absolutely beautiful castle having dinner with my Rose sisters and I really can’t complain.”

Watch the #roseoftralee TV show on @RTEPlayerInt this Mon & Tues. Link on http://t.co/bofyJJB0Vv pic.twitter.com/TU3Zr2AfdW

— Rose of Tralee (@RoseofTralee_) August 12, 2015

The Roses have been on tour all week and are filling their days with a whole host of activities including paddle boarding, sailing, and zip-lining.

“It’s unbelievable. There are no words to explain it. It’s literally surprise after surprise and we’re being treated like royalty. This castle we’re staying in at the moment, it’s just amazing,” said Megan who, along with the other contestants, will kick off the international festival in style at the illustrious Rose Ball in Tralee tomorrow.

Fellow Leaving Certificate student David Glynn was celebrating being top of this year’s 59,000 school leavers, after scoring an impressive nine higher-level A1s. The graduate of St Gerald’s College in Castlebar, Co Mayo, hopes to study maths at Trinity College, Dublin, with top marks in the subject at higher level — as well as Japanese — among his record grades.

While 27% of students took higher-level maths, up very slightly on last year, Education Minister Jan O’Sullivan played down the fact that the proportion who failed is also rising. National Association of Principals and Deputy Principals director Clive Byrne said the numbers taking exams that may be beyond their capability show another impact of bonus college entry points.