Relieved students look to the future
WEDNESDAY was the day of reckoning for the 1,604 students in Co Wicklow who sat their Leaving Certificate earlier this summer.
Minds immediately turned to third level availability as students collected their results to find out if all those hours of study had paid off.
There were plenty of cheers, hugs and tears of joy at the Dominican College Wicklow on Wednesday morning. While the results weren’t meant to be released until 9 a.m., eager students arrived earlier than that and could be spotted running through the school gates and hopping into waiting vehicles before opening their results.
Sally Crowley was feeling quietly confident.
‘I’m very nervous if I’m being honest. I thought most of the exams went well and I was pretty pleased with the exam papers but I’m still feeling nervous. I’m going to wait until I get home before I open the results.’
Sally, who hopes to study Economics in college, was intent on meeting up with her friends after the big exam ‘reveal’ with her parents.
‘I’m looking forward to meeting up with everyone later without having to worry about exam pressures or anything like that’.
Katie McDonald was pleased with her results.
‘The exams went well and I am very happy. Maths went well, which I was a bit surprised by. I thought one of the papers was quite difficult. I’d like to study Psychology so now I have to add up all my points and see if I made it,’ she said.
Emma Stakelum exited the school gates with her unopened results tucked under her arm.
‘I’m a little nervous but I’m not going to open my results until I get home. I’d like to study business at third level and I think things went well but I guess we will soon find out’.
While Sarah Ford thought the exams went well for her, she still admitted to feeling anxious as she prepared to collect her results. She too decided not to open her envelope until she got home so she could share her results with her family members.
‘To be honest, I am really scared. I don’t really know why. The exams went pretty well. Some people had problems with one of the maths papers but I was fine with that. I love animals so my ambition would be aiming for veterinary studies in college’.
Saoirse O’Reilly had plenty going on over the summer months to keep her mind off the results, including winning the Home Nations with the Irish rugby sevens in Birmingham, winning a bronze medal representing Ireland in France and reaching the quarter-final of the All-Ireland with the senior county team in GAA football.
‘I am a bit nervous but excited as well. I think I did better than I thought I would before the start of the exams. I’m going to open the results with my parents when we get home’.
Padraig Donoghue, Principal of Coláiste Chill Mhantáin said: ‘The results this year were in keeping with previous years in the school. I am delighted to see that students continue to reach the goals they set for themselves’.
He acknowledged that results day can be a day of mixed emotions but advised all students to ‘take a breath and remain patient’ as the next stage of the process unfolds.