Cork students feeling a mix of nerves and excitement as 2025 State exams get under way
A total of 140,457 students will sit this year's Leaving Certificate, Leaving Certificate Applied, and Junior Cycle exams in more than 800 centres across the country.
Students who spoke to the Irish Examiner ahead of the exams were a mix of nerves and excitement, with many looking forward already to the summer.
At Mayfield Community School, the study was "going grand" for sixth year student Evan O'Callaghan.
'I've just been trying to keep on top of it for the last few days and tried not to get distracted by other things.'
Kevin Riordan, Francesca Ring and Jack Salter-O'Leary at The Life Centre in Sunday's Well, Cork. Picture: Larry Cummins
While he's looking forward to subjects like engineering and art, he's a little more apprehensive about maths.
'That's the one I'm scared of, that I'm focusing more on.'
When he finishes school, he hopes to study nautical science, an area he's very interested in.
'I was leaning more towards teaching but I fell in love with the campus when I went to visit the place, the course, the opportunities.'
While he's happy to be finishing school, it also does 'feel a bit weird', he added.
'It's 12 years of your life in school and then all of a sudden, it's done. You go to college, you become an adult. It's weird!'
For fellow Mayfield student Joseph Salis, there's 'just a bit' of nerves about the exams, but overall, he's feeling well-prepared.
Hoping to study mechanical engineering at Munster Technological University once he finishes school, he has spent the last weeks prepping and revising.
'For the last couple of weeks, I've been studying since I wake up until lunch. I'll take a break after that, maybe about two hours free, and then back to study.'
At Cork Life Centre in Sunday's Well, student Francesca Ring is feeling nervous. 'It'd be weird not to be.'
Francesca Ring relaxes in the music room at The Life Centre in Sunday's Well, Cork. Picture: Larry Cummins
She hopes to study nursing once she finishes school.
'It's what I've been aiming for, for a while. I've been studying every day but I tried not to tire myself out too much because I was literally staying in the library every day until after midnight so I really burnt myself out. I'm trying to be somewhere in the middle, where I study enough but not too much.'
She is looking forward to the summer, which she will spend travelling to Vietnam.
'I'll be going to Hanoi, and volunteering and teaching English to children. I'm heading out at the start of July, literally just as the exams are done, giving me a week for a breather.'
Fellow Leaving Cert student Jack Salter O'Leary is hoping to pursue his studies in woodcraft once he finishes his exams. He was drawn to the course as he likes working with his hands.
"The carpentry side of it is something that I've been interested in and enjoyed the most during my time at the Life Centre.
"I had access to it before but when I came here, I got more creative freedom with it."
Kevin Riordan looking after the fruit and vegetables gardens at the Life Centre. Picture: Larry Cummins
For Kevin Riordan, the prospect of starting the Leaving Cert exams brought a mix of emotion.
"I've been doing so much study, I think I'm too tired," he joked. "I'm feeling better than I would have been though."
He wants to study applied plant biology. "When my mental health was at its worst, plants were always something that would keep me going," he explained.
"It just blossomed from there. I got more into the chemistry and the dynamics of nature; learning about how soil can be used to remediate the climate crisis, very interesting stuff."
For the summer, he is tasked with caring for the school gardens at Cork Life Centre. "I'll have to oversee a few fruit trees, a few annual veg crops, and just general maintenance. Nothing too major, they're not forcing me to work," he laughed.
Wednesday also marks the start of the Junior Cycle exams for students across the country. At Le Chéile Secondary School Ballincollig, David Deasy Rubio is 'feeling good' about them.
'I've been focused for the last three years, from first year until now. I just have to go in and do my best, no one can really do it for me. I've done all the work, I've been preparing since October, I feel ready.'
His classmate Oscar Sandberg is also well-prepared but was feeling a little bit daunted by the prospect of the exams.
'But I have done a lot of revision. I've been doing about two hours of study a day for the last seven or eight weeks.'
Fellow Le Chéile Junior Cycle student Katie Pedersen is excited to get the exams under way. 'The teachers have been really helpful in preparing us for them, giving us lots of revision work over the last few weeks.
'The teachers have been focusing one-on-one with the students who might need extra help and some of our maths teachers have been giving extra classes before and after school.'
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