It’s parents who fail the Leaving Cert stress test – not their children

IF April is the cruellest month, then August is surely the dreariest. True, the sun might shine for a few days but not a whole lot happens. The news pipeline becomes thinner and thinner and threatens to taper off entirely.

And then suddenly it becomes choked – with stories about exams. The island has half-emptied but those left behind are kept awake by whining from every side about the injustice of the whole darned thing.

The Leaving Cert and exams, in general, were never destined to be exactly popular. Teachers have to prepare for them. Young people have to sit them. Heads meanwhile have to mediate between the two and guard their schools’ reputations in the process.