Don't add to exam stress, parents urged

About 119,000 students begin the Leaving Certificate and Junior Certificate exams today in 4,600 centres across the country.

The Union of Secondary Students (USS) has urged parents to reduce the pressure on students over the two-week exam period.

USS president Emer Ni Chuagain said: “Just let them do their own thing. They really don’t need to be stressed by being told they have to clean their bedroom or something like that.

“Ask how things went but don’t push it any further and try to give them a bit of space.”

More than 56,000 students will sit the Leaving Cert, 5,000 will sit the Applied Leaving Certificate and 57,000 will sit the Junior Certificate.

There are more than 1,500 mature students doing the Leaving Certificate and 789 doing the Junior Certificate.

Minister for Education Noel Dempsey sent his best wishes today to the students.

“I hope that all students perform to the best of their ability. I know that students will have the help and support of their teachers, parents, families and friends,” he said.

The National Parents Council (Post Primary) said blaming students for not studying enough served no useful purpose.

President Eleanor Petrie said: “We often see suicides around this time.

“There is no point in saying ‘I told you so’ or ‘You should have done more’. Parents should encourage their children to get some exercise during the day, give them some good food and a hug.”

She urged parents not to impose their ambitions on children. Rather, they should tell their children that they valued them far more than any examination results they would achieve.

“Parents need to get that message across. It is a very tough time in their lives,” said Ms Petrie.

“There is more to life than the Leaving Certificate. If everything goes wrong, you’re only young and you can do it again. And not everyone is going to be a high points person.”

Students at 4,600 exam centres across the country, including 30 located in hospitals, will receive the Higher and Ordinary level English paper at 9.30am tomorrow, followed by the second English paper in the afternoon.

The Association of Secondary Teachers of Ireland (ASTI) said students should think positively rather than waste time fretting.

“Try not to fixate on an examination paper once you’ve completed it. Avoid over-analysing it with your classmates as this can create needless anxiety,” said president Pat Cahill.

“Don’t let media reports lead you to obsess about how well you have done in a particular paper. Instead, put it behind you, focus on the next exam and, once you have completed your exams, take a well-deserved break.”

This will be the first examination of new Leaving Certificate syllabuses in Biology, Home Economics and Arabic. In another new development, students who do not have Irish or English as their first language will be allowed to use translation dictionaries in certain exams.

Students will have to cope with the twin distractions of good weather and the Euro 2004 football championships, but by June 24 all Junior Certificate exams will be over, with the final Leaving Certificate exams - Italian, Agricultural Science, Applied Mathematics and Ancient Greek- taking place on Friday June 25.

The State Examinations Commission will be employing 6,000 examiners to award more than one million individual grades and 120,000 educational certificates

The results of the Leaving Certificate will be given to students on August 18 and the Junior Certificate results will be available in mid September.