Everyone came out of the hall saying "that was horrible". All the faces were really glum, down and disheartened. It was tough.

We had all anticipated that the second maths paper would be difficult, as the first one had been quite nice. It was a very long paper and I was scribbling away right up to the wire.

I worked consistently over the weekend. If I was sitting watching TV for a while I was thinking about things in the back of my mind, trying to remember what I knew. You just end up feeling so guilty, comparing what else you could be learning in the length of time it takes to watch something on the telly. So I ended up putting my nose back in the books.

I did take a break on Saturday morning and I went to do the shopping with my mum. I got some clothes for going away on my holidays at the end of the month - a '70s style turquoise bikini and a silvery grey one. We're going to Spain - I just wish it were next week and I could empty my head and be dreaming about Spain now!

This morning before we went into the exam we were all talking about how much we'd been cramming it over the weekend. Everyone said they were absolutely dreading this one. As soon as I opened the paper I headed straight for the option question which I'd chosen to do on differentiation. It was really frustrating at one stage - I just couldn't get it to work out.

The questions weren't impossible or nasty or about things that we had never seen before. But this was an honours Leaving Cert maths paper and as you would expect, it was not easy. There was no time for sitting back and contemplating with any of these questions.

I avoided the probability questions because I prefer trigonometry and geometry. With some of the questions I was working on I got stuck in the later stages. Once when that happened I went off and worked on another question. I managed to work on some proofs and figure them out which gave me the confidence to go back.

The most horrible thing with the panic of a maths paper is trying to think logically while at the same time having the pressure of the clock ticking away. The formulae or missing jigsaw bit slips into your mind just a minute before the papers are being collected, so you end up scratching the paper like a maniac.

Mum came and picked me up. She could see I looked drained. She asked how it went and I told her. "How did everyone else feel about the paper?" she asked. The one reassuring thing is that everybody else felt the same. Mum just keeps reminding me that I've worked consistently throughout the year and that will stand by me. I'm going to hold on to that till I get finished next week.

I have four more subjects to go - German, history of art, physics and chemistry. The hardest part is keeping the motivation going and trying to keep in mind that the next exams are just as important as the ones we've already finished. My next exam is German on Friday. I want them to be finished. I wish I were doing all the rest of my exams this week. I guess I'll have to try and put in all the study I can.

There have been no disasters so far. I'm getting through them and I don't think I'm totally frazzled - I just can't wait until next Tuesday evening, after five o'clock.

Sarah Caraher from St Vincent's Secondary School, Dundalk, Co Louth, talked to Janet Stafford.