The Leaving and Junior Certificate examinations began this morning for almost 116,000 students at over 4,500 test centres around the country.
ireland.comvisited a number of schools in Dublin's north inner city this morning detecting a largely positive response from students to their first English exam.
Fiachra Lambe, Justin Murphy and Adam Lowe outside Belvedere College this afternoon. Photo: Aoife Carr
Laura Williams (15) from Mount Carmel Secondary School in Kings Inn Street sat the Junior Certificate Ordinary level English paper this morning. Laura felt she did well and said she had been particularly well prepared by her teachers for the questions on Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.
Her classmate Susan McAllister (16) wrote about the worst holiday she had ever experienced as her essay, but said she had been slightly stuck for time and had not got to finish.
Honours English student Jonathan O’Shea (14) from St Paul’s CBS in Brunswick Street said the morning’s paper had held no nasty surprises. He seemed slightly more apprehensive about the afternoon’s paper and was keen to avoid distraction and look over some last minute notes.
Fiachra Lambe, Justin Murphy and Adam Lowe, all 18, were gathered in the sunshine outside Belvedere College on Great Denmark Street discussing the morning’s Leaving Certificate Honours English exam.
The boys were allowed to ditch their uniform during the exams, a luxury this reporter, who sweltered in a kilt and woollen jumper for three weeks throughout her Leaving Certificate, heartily concurs with.
The boys found the paper very fair and the essay titles topical. With titles such as " What is expected of you by other people?," " A talk on not taking life too seriously" and " Has the cult of celebrity gone too far?" they felt they had a wide choice.
Katy Cringanu and Lisa Cheldieva outside Larkin College this afternoon. Photo: Aoife Carr
Asked whether they were confident about this afternoon’s paper, Fiachra predicted: "If Emily Dickinson comes up this afternoon, I reckon the whole country will be happy."
Larkin Community College on Parnell Street was where Lisa Cheldieva (17), originally from Russia, and Katy Cringanu (18) from Romania sat this morning’s Ordinary level English Leaving Certificate paper.
Both wrote an essay on " Freedom" and were quietly confident heading into this afternoon's paper where they will answer questions on John Steinbeck's novel Of Mice and Menby and A View from the Bridgeby Arthur Miller.
The college principal Mr Noel O’Brien said he had seen a lot of "smiling faces" after the morning’s exams.
The examinations conclude on June 24th with Leaving Certificate results released on August 17th. Junior Certificate results will be available in mid-September.