Four Donegal siblings sitting the State exams together this summer

Think the stress levels in your house are bad — spare a thought for the McCauleys who have four children sitting State exams.

And to further add to the tension in the household in Greencastle, Co Donegal — they’re two sets of twins. All four are students at Moville Community College situated on the banks of Lough Foyle.

Kate and Jane, 18, are sitting the Leaving Certificate while their younger siblings, twins Emma and James, 15, tackle the Junior Certificate.

Mary, 58, and husband Leo, 55, who run an estate agency in nearby Moville, also have a fifth child, Sarah, 17, who is luckily exam-free this year.

“We’re so used to dealing with everything that comes with having two sets of twins and five children in total that I didn’t really think having four of them doing the State exams at the same time was that big a deal. But I suppose it is quite a lot of children doing the big exams at the one time from the same family,” she laughed.

The house is currently being run with military precision with cupboards and fridge stocked up with exam-time supplies.

The children are studying in separate rooms, while Mary has all four mobile phones safely tucked in her handbag for the duration of the exams. “The stress levels in the house are up a big notch but we’re all coping well,” said Mary.

More than 120,000 students are currently sitting the State exams.