I wrote for six hours and 10 minutes and I've got a blister on my finger. All in all, that's a fairly hard day at the office, but it all started off quite smoothly.

The atmosphere in class this morning was surprisingly calm. People were more tense about the second paper. The higher-level English paper was a very strange one. Around Easter a lot of people were coming off revision courses with great notions of what would come up. And they were all wrong.

One part of the question on was very difficult. They asked us to speak about Shakespeare's use of soliloquy. I did the other part.

The people who concentrated on Irish poetry would have been in a bit of trouble. I answered the question on Hopkins. I studied Hopkins on my own and it's very rewarding to answer something you've done by yourself. I was delighted to see that question because I personally like his poetry and I wasn't answering for the sake of answering the question.

It was the same with the modern novel. I opted for Catcher in the Rye instead of Emma. I always feel happier answering something that I truly enjoy myself.

After the exam, I felt very empty and so did some of my friends. In the English exam you only get to say a couple of the things you want to say. In the novel, for instance, they ask you about a particular character. You never get to say everything that's bottled up inside you.

I think I did quite well but I had a bit of trouble with the drama questions. People say that the afternoon's paper is a very long one but I didn't find it too bad. In the mocks, I mismanaged my time terribly and you don't do that twice.

In yesterday's English, I had enough time to proofread my papers.

Tonight I'm looking over my revision notes for maths. You need a different approach and a different frame of mind.

Daithi Mac Sithigh, a student at Colaiste Rathin, Bray, Co Wicklow, was in conversation with Yvonne Healy