The sky is charcoal grey. It's a rainy day in Naas, Co Kildare, and in two second-level schools, final-year students are full of CAO deadlines, mocks, orals and the great Leaving Cert itself.

"It's not that bad yet," says Dario Fusco (17), at CBS Naas. "But I've a feeling it's going to get worse. Some days you get stressed out."

Gavin O'Gorman finds "getting down to study is hard. The weekends are the hardest. You try to get a life but it's hard . . . I'm not allowed out to the pub or a disco."

Clive Curran, who wants to do law in UCD or in TCD, is more up-beat: "I'm pretty happy with my study. I know I have to do it to get the points - but it is very hard to apply yourself."

Arthur Hennessy wants to do medicine, "but I'm not doing enough study at home. There are too many distractions."

Gerard O'Shea "doesn't know at all" what he'll do after school, although he will definitely go on to third level. "I probably should be more worried. There are a lot of things that would interest me.."

Paul Foxe wants to be a second-level teacher. "There's no pressure yet. It's okay now because we've been in the school six years. We've seen other Leaving Cert years and we know what to expect. There's nothing I'm really worried about. The pressure can be a bit much but you have to have a good outlook."

Ronan O'Sullivan has "dropped everything to concentrate on study. I'm looking along the lines of engineering, but I'm worried that we won't get the course covered in some subjects."

Noel Merrick, principal of CBS Naas, finds that some students cope better than others. "A few go through crises as the year goes on," he says. "In general they are all thinking about their choices, but some find it hard to focus on study techniques. The people who are not working find themselves under more stress. If you're working, you don't have as much time to worry." Most Leaving Cert students avail of supervised study provided after school hours.

Merrick sees "a huge cultural thing out there about the Leaving Cert. The emphasis is on going to college but some are not suitable for college. Perhaps some of them need a year out. The college drop-out rate is very high."

Down the road at St Mary's College, the girls are knee-deep in books. Such is the pressure that the school offers a relaxation programme on Wednesday afternoons to help students unwind.

"It's a rough year," says guidance counsellor Dympna Fennell. "It's the old story, the points. But many of them are quite focused. They've done the research. There's probably less confusion than the popular perception among serious contenders for college places."

Deirdre Lawler from Ballymore Eustace, doesn't know what career path she'll follow "so I'll probably go for arts. I like not knowing - there's no pressure on having to get something where all the points are really high. There are loads of subjects I can choose from."

The girls worry about revision. "Occasionally, you freak out," says one. "Some girls come in and say they did five hours study on Saturday and five hours on Sunday and you were out shopping!"

Laura McAuliffe from Kill, Co Kildare, is interested in language and business in DCU. "I go out only about once a month. You have less time to see friends. I go swimming once a week."

Fiona Buggy, from Ardclough, is "caught between communications and art. The pressure will start building after Christmas. The time-table for the Leaving Cert is up already!"

Gina Malone wants to do hotel management in DIT or Tallaght IT. She's given up singing, but "I still do choir one evening a week. It's a break. You need something."

Paula Conneran, head girl at St Mary's College, wants to do nursing. "I find it hard to get down to study at home when telly is calling. I do find the courses are so long. You just think - when am I going to do it? It's scary. There's so much to be done and not enough time. There are just 21 weeks to the Leaving Cert!" There's a collective shriek.

Failing the Leaving Cert is not an option, says Eric Mullane, a sixth-year student at the High School, Rathgar, Dublin. He wants to do architecture or engineering.

"A lot of people in my school are not going to go to college outside of Dublin. They're narrowing their choices. I think that's stupid. You should go wherever you get your opportunities."

The courses he's aiming for have quite high points. "So, I've applied to England because they have more opportunities. But, I'll probably stay in Dublin. I still have some time to decide - before the deadline for the CAO form on February 1st.

"I`ll go to England if I get accepted and I don't get anything here. A few of us have already filled in some forms but most of my friends wouldn't have filled in anything yet."

Mullane would love to go to UCD - "because of the social life there. It's one of the bigger colleges. That's very important."