Joy for 70-year-old Sean as he makes the grade in Leaving Cert
CAMPILE MAN ACHIEVES LEAVING CERT HONOUR
JOINING in the Leaving Certificate celebrations last Wednesday was retired engineer Sean Murray (70) from Campile who used his love of the Spanish language to help him achieve a C1 in the subject.
Many years after sitting his original Leaving Cert at Drogheda CBS Secondary school, Sean returned to the examination hall of Good Counsel College to take the Leaving Certificate Spanish Higher Level exam.
The first time Sean went to Spain General Franco was still in power and a beer cost five pesetas, about two cents in today’s euros.
Since then Sean has returned many times to Spain and the Canaries to enjoy the scuba diving in the warm clear waters, the good weather, the food and the music.
Sean, who turned 70 in May, said: ‘I love to hire a car and head for the small villages in the countryside and practice his Spanish with the locals. Many of the older people don’t speak English well or even at all, but they are always enthusiastic and helpful when you want to try out your Spanish.’
Two years ago Sean saw the Ramsgrange Community School were going to have Spanish classes, so he signed up.
After two years under the excellent tutorship of now locally-based Madrileno Olga Carbajo, Sean felt ready for the challenge of the Leaving Certificate.
‘Entering was easy, with the assistance of the staff at Good Counsel,’ Sean said.
So on June 21 Sean found himself sitting in the middle of all the Leaving Certificate students waiting with apprehension for the exam papers to be given out. When he read it through, Sean’s only fear was that he would not be able to write fast enough to get all the questions done, but as it turned out, he was able to complete the paper in good time.
The only part which Sean felt difficult was the aural exam, listening to spoken Spanish on a CD and then answering questions to confirm understanding.
When the results arrived in the post on Wednesday, he learned that he had passed Spanish Higher Level with a grade of C1.
Sean hopes to continue his studies and enjoys reading the classic Spanish writers, and he is also looking forward to further improving his spoken Spanish when he next returns to Spain.