State examinations - Testing time but not life or death

For the 113,500 students beginning the Leaving Certificate and Junior Certificate examinations today, the most important thing to remember is that while they are important, they are not a matter of life-and-death.

The weather is typical of exam time — beautiful summer days and balmy nights — and is not conducive to concentrating energies on what they are told may be a pivotal time for their futures.

Having been inundated by all the experts writing and talking about the best, most effective and positive way to approach the tests, at the end of the day, it is solely up to each individual student how they perform.