Students ponder way ahead after results
Students across Ireland were pondering their future today after the nail-biting wait for exam results finally ended.
In its first hour some 5,000 students logged onto the State Examinations Commission website to access their grades while hundreds called an exam helpline run by the National Parents Council.
As students digested their results the controversy over high failure rates in Maths and Science continued. But for many, the grades opened doors which could never have been imagined.
Liam Brady, 20, had taken the Leaving Cert twice at two different schools before finally making the grade this year at O’Connell’s School, Dublin.
“It is the first time I got what I wanted and passed everything – six subjects,” he said.
“I have really mixed emotions. Over a month ago I had no job and no prospects and now I’m planning to study business at the Institute of Technology, Tallaght.
“This year has been the best year of my life so far. I’ve met so many people and had such great support. The teachers here put in a lot of effort and made me study hard, but it was worth it.”
O’Connell’s, in Dublin’s north inner city, had 115 pupils taking the Leaving Cert, some 55 of whom were repeating exams from last year.
It has a high proportion of foreign nationals, most of whom have to work incredibly hard to achieve passes despite being ineligible for university places.
Ndumiso Mhlanga moved to Ireland from his native Zimbabwe in 2001, aged 15, alone. He studied for his exams while living in a hostel and is now planning to become an accounting technician after passing all five of his subjects.
“It was really tough but the hardest thing is not having somewhere to move onto when it’s all over,” he said.
“I’m unlikely to get sponsors for third level but I got a B2 in Accountancy and hopefully I’ll be able to get onto a college course by September.
“The hardest thing about studying in a foreign place is not really the language so much as nobody really knows exactly where I’m from. But it’s good to mix with a whole range of different people.”
As business chiefs criticised the Government for failing to place enough emphasis on core Science and Maths subjects, headteachers called for more financial support.
Keith Ryan, Principal of Synge Street Christian Brothers School, Dublin, said new initiatives were being implemented but not fast enough.
“What really needs to happen is action,” he said. “It is happening but what needs to be encouraged is more resourcing schools to employ good staff and build well-equipped labs.”
