Expert’s advice as D-Day dawns for Galway’s Leaving Certs
The sun is out, the skies are blue – all of which can only mean one thing…it’s almost time for the Leaving Cert, with thousands of Galway students facing the start of the state exams next Wednesday.
It’s a critical time in the students’ lives – but also in the lives of their parents. And Loughrea-based career guidance expert Marie Barrett this week offers some tips on how to cope with the stress for all.
First off, know your timetable and what day each subject is on. It’s also important to know what time of the day each exam is and how long they are, as they can vary.
Then ‘have a good breakfast – and bring water’ she says.
Focus on what you know, don’t panic about what you haven’t studied or what others are talking about: just focus on you and what you already know.
“You can’t panic and you can’t go into a “if only I had...” mood,” she says.
Parents, guardians and siblings can also do their part to help anyone at home about to sit the exams.
Marie advises that others – particularly small children – should be kept out of their way and that there should be as much peace and quiet in the house as possible. She also says that ensuring their favourite food is in the house can be helpful.
“It is very important is avoid giving a major post-mortem to each exam – although that can be hard to avoid,” she says.
The solution take a half hour or an hour to yourself to think through it and discuss it with positive people – but try to avoid anyone talking about what they did and who emphasise what you didn’t do.
“Try and let that exam go,” as Marie puts it.
The career guidance expert also urges students to avoid studying into the early mornings or getting up at five in the morning – getting enough sleep is more important, otherwise ‘there is a huge danger that they will get a block from exhaustion’.
“Unfortunately the exams don’t always go to plan, so, if a topic you were expecting to come up doesn’t, just take a deep breath, stay calm – because there will be a lot more you do know on the paper,” says Marie.
“You can’t undo what has been done; all you can do is focus on what you do know and build up the courage that you can let the day go,” she says.
Students won’t know how exams went until the results are out – but those who are unsure of how they went can look into ‘linking courses’ to your first choice and add these to your CAO.
“A lot of students know more than they realise. And there are lots of courses out there; some that may not have crossed some students’ minds yet, but for now, don’t start losing heart,” she adds.
The exam timetables can be found online at www.examinations.ie. The CAO change of mind closes July 1 at 5.15pm – and the important dates and further info can be found on www.cao.ie