GRATEFUL for the second chance - this is how the mature Leaving Cert students at Dundrum College, Dublin, describe themselves.

"Please can we say thank you to the teachers" they beg. "They've been marvellous to us and very understanding. They've become our friends."

Graham Stokes (24), Susan Quinn (22) and Gearoidin Fitzgerald (42) have more than one thing in common. They all left school without their Leaving Cert and have all lived to regret it.

"I did well in the Inter Cert," recalls Fitzgerald, "but I left school after fifth year because I was terrified of the Irish orals, which had just been introduced. I was afraid I'd fail the whole Leaving Cert because of them." Even though Fitzgerald trained as a nurse and has worked in nursing all over the world, being without the Leaving Cert has left her lacking a sense of completion, she says.

By the time Achill Islander Quinn had completed her Junior Cert she felt she had had enough of school. "I didn't want to spend another two years studying." She took a secretarial course, followed by a course in computer studies and then went to Britain where she worked in telesales.

"When I was 16 a secretarial job seemed glamorous, but after a few weeks working I knew it wasn't for me," she says.

Stokes had a less than happy school experience and left after completing Inter Cert and a pre-employment course. "At school I fell through the gaps," he says. "I was never academic and was slightly dyslexic. I got some remedial help but I still struggled and the teachers tended to leave me on the sidelines. I got fed up with the system and felt I would be better getting a job."

The jobs, though, were all dead-end ones. It was then that Stokes decided he that he could and would achieve a Leaving Cert. Finding somewhere to take the courses proved to be a problem. Information was hard to come by and it took some time to locate Dundrum College.

If you are a Leaving Cert holder, it's difficult to understand how people who have never sat the exam feel. "You feel degraded without a Leaving Cert," says Quinn. "You feel you've no future without it. I've seen advertisements for waitressing jobs which demand the Leaving Cert."

According to Maryellen Lennon, the college's VTOS co-ordinator, people's attitudes towards themselves change when they study for the Leaving Cert. "Initially people worry that they won't be able to do it, but achieving that piece of paper boosts their self-esteem," she says. "It's the standard by which everyone is judged," adds Stokes, while Fitzgerald notes the shame and embarrassment of not having a Leaving Cert.

Returning to learning after a long period in the workplace can be problematic. One of the biggest problems faced by mature students is a diminished lifestyle.

"I've had to reduce my working hours," says Stokes, who is taking five subjects. "It's a real problem financially." Quinn adds: "I couldn't study five subjects and work." Fitzgerald began by studying five subjects but was forced to cut down because of pressure of work and family commitments. This year she is sitting only one Leaving Cert exam - English.

Students find that settling back into an academic atmosphere can be difficult. "It was extremely hard to get down to study at first," says Stokes. "You have to make up your mind that you're doing it for yourself. If the teachers give you an essay, say, they'll tell you: `I don't care if you don't do it, but you need to do it for yourself'."

Fitzgerald confirms this: "It's a challenge. You have to be self-reliant and take responsibility for yourself."

OVER the two years, students learn a lot about themselves. "I've learned that I have a lot of stamina and determination," says Fitzgerald. "I've also learned that there is a life outside permanent and pensionable jobs, that there's a whole world outside nursing. Although I've given up subjects I have no sense of failure and I will come back to them."

Stokes says that he has learned that "it's never too late to learn. I'm amazed at the information I've picked up that will help me in the outside world. I've a much greater appreciation for literature and languages now and can enjoy things I wouldn't have understood previously."

"I've learned to push myself and study," notes Quinn. "When I first started Leaving Cert English, Shakespeare was a foreign language to me. But once I got into it, I started to enjoy it and now I really love Shakespeare."

The students have mixed feelings about the exams. "I'm nervous about the exams," admits Stokes. "But the rest of your life doesn't depend on them. If I pass one subject I'll be delighted. If I pass all subjects I'll be delirious."

Quinn too is nervous: "I'm worried that something unexpected will come up but I'm hoping to improve on my mocks where I got mostly Cs." Fitzgerald remains cautious: "Let's just say I'm attempting it."

In the end, are the sacrifices - the restricted social life and the diminished standard of living - worth it? Most definitely yes, say the students. "It gives you a great sense of achievement," explains Stokes. "I've learned a lot. It's opened up my knowledge of the world. Education is something that no one can take away from you. It's something that you have for the rest of your life."