Simply getting through the system is reason enough to celebrate

Analyzing the problems faced by the Irish education system would take an inordinate amount of time.

Issues include segregated primary schools, ever increasing college fees and the ongoing debate over the new junior certificate examination. It all sounds quite tedious and stress inducing doesn't it? It might also explain why, in Ireland, education is frequently overlooked and put to one side.

That is not to say that we don't have reasons to be proud of our education system. We have produced amazing scientists, artists and entrepreneurs, and of course there is a lot more opportunity to get into 3rd level education here than in other parts of the world.

But, the one thing we just can't seem to improve is the exam we have to sit to get into university: the Leaving Certificate.

When you break it down the process might seem strange to someone who hasn't gone through it: you spend two years of your life studying at least six subjects that you might never have been interested in, to sit one exam that determines what college career you pursue.

And that’s not to mention that you choose your career aged just 17 or 18.

We are all aware of the problems with this system; how people who panic in tests are at a disadvantage, college entry points grow at an inconceivable rate, how students who are good at maths are receiving an extra 25 point advantage and the fact that students are learning to prepare for a test instead of for real life.

The biggest problem with the Leaving Certificate is not within the system itself, but with our attitude towards it.

Why the obsession with points? We make it our business to discover the number of points achieved by our peers and even those we do not know so well, their level of intelligence determined by a single number.

As the updates roll up our Facebook news feed we can't help but wonder what course each of these “friends” has been offered.

As numerous conversations in every town and village range from “Mary's daughter got this many points” to “John didn't get offered his first choice”, you can't help but wonder why everyone feels the need to even discuss the results in the first place.

It is because we make such a big deal out of getting high points that young students feel they have to live up to such a high standard, even though 300 points for one student could be a lot harder earned than someone else's 400.

It's not entirely our fault though because this is just the way that Ireland has come to be in recent years.

We say ‘wow’ when we hear of someone that got the points for medicine, but don't think much of someone going to pursue construction, even though that's what they really want to do.

Over and over, secondary school students are told by their elders that the Leaving Certificate doesn't matter when you are older. While this is certainly true to those who have passed the finish line, to a 17 year-old sixth year student nothing in the world feels bigger.

You exert yourself to the point of exhaustion just to prove to everyone, and yourself, that you can get as many points as you are aiming for.

You stay up late and give up your hobbies. Some pay large sums of money to go to private schools or attend grinds.

But you can't help it when you are so convinced that you have to reach this certain goal and that nothing else matters.

Indeed, when it is all over and the students finally get to college they will come to realize that the Leaving Cert doesn't mean much beyond the summer of sixth year.

There can be no worse feeling in this context than opening up that piece of paper and not getting what you want and then avoiding people's questions and not feeling as accomplished as your peers.

While it's the systems fault that all of this bubbles down to a one exam process based solely on points, it is our fault that some Leaving Cert students feel like failures, even if it's just for a second.

Now for those who have received their results the most important thing to remember in the next few weeks is that entry points are not based solely on intelligence levels but on demand.

Just because you didn't get the points for nursing in the college that you wanted by no way means you can’t be a nurse.

If your talents lie in the arts but you failed to pass maths – that doesn't mean that you don't deserve a place in college. As people continue to ask you about your points and your CAO offers never forget that just because you didn't get 625 points doesn't mean you don't have reason to be proud.

Simply getting through the system is reason enough to celebrate.