Nervous Irish parents take to social media as Leaving Cert 2025 starts
A record number of students are sitting down to take their Leaving or Junior Cert exams today.
Over 800 schools across the country are full with over 140,000 anxious students, inside silent examination halls, all heads down, concentrating hard.
The Minister for Education, Helen McEntee, said that while students should work hard at their exams, there are always other options.
'Really this is an important time for young people. However, it is also important that they understand there are numerous avenues and pathways available for them to achieve their ultimate goals.'
But what about the thousands of anxious parents who dropped off their nervous teens at the school gates this morning, no doubt wishing they could take this stress away from them, even imagining sitting the exams for them.
Parents took to social media this morning to share their thoughts about the exams and their kids, with one parent posting on Reddit – I'm so nervous I was in the toilet three times this morning… and I am not even the one sitting the exams.' Pic: Shutterstock
While another anxious mum posted 'I don't know about you, but I woke up this morning with a massive feeling of nostalgia. I remembered his first day of junior infants and how scared he was. I remembered how I wanted to hug away the fear and protect him from everything. Fast forward 14 years and today is the day he starts his Leaving Cert. I'm still the same worried mum. I still want to hug away the fear.'
As always others had fun remarks when it comes to this time of year, one reader quipped 'Ah.. that explains the nice weather.' Funny how it's become known as 'Leaving cert weather' if we get fine sunny days in June.
Perhaps the last word should go to a parent who posted, 'I'm so proud of my kid heading off this morning, regardless of outcome. Just watching them all as I drove away, I realised, they were in 1st year when covid hit and had two years of chaos, online schooling, lockdowns etc.'
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