External factors pile on the pressure for Leaving Certs

“Students are under a magnifying glass from people around them; it takes away from their chance to focus on their own capability and flourish,” said Anna Flaherty, a Science and Mathematics teacher at Coláiste Cholmcille in Inverin.

With the Leaving Certificate exams set to start on Wednesday, tensions are already high – not only for the students taking the exam, but for the parents who are at a loss of what they can do to help their child.

Anna believes that the pressure from the outside asking how many points did you get can just ‘inhibits a student from relaxing and putting their best foot forward’.

She claimed that the overshadowing worry from this can be damaging before the exams even begin.

“We as a society must acknowledge how we treat the younger generation and have more sensitivity and respect,” she said.

The National Parents Council Post Primary (NPCPP) offers information on their website but also a helpline phone number, 1800 265 165 and email, [email protected] which gives access to qualified guidance counsellors who offer support and advice to both students and parents during this difficult time.

Many people believe that the Leaving Certificate is unnecessarily stressful and does not give an accurate reflection of what the student is capable of, but Anna believes that it is a ‘well rounded, though undoubtedly tough exam to get through’.

“The array of subjects that the students have under their belt provides them with diverse opportunities and areas that they can delve in into again and again, depending on where their choices and interests take them as they learn more about themselves and as they mature with life,” she said.

This is in stark contrast with the A-Level Examinations in the UK, where the student must pick two to three subjects after the junior cycle and are therefore more restricted if they change their career choice.

Scoil Chuimsitheach Chiaráin Leaving Cert student, Shannen Flaherty, disagrees. “Its importance is overrated and exaggerated,” she said.

And she felt the amount of emphasis based on one set of exams is ‘simply cruel’.

“It’s all based on academics which leaves no room for those with practical minds to expand and allow themselves to acknowledge their own talents, that can’t be shown in a classroom or on a piece of paper.”

On the other hand, Clíona Lee, also a student of the same school, believes we have a ‘decent system’.

She feels that there is a wide variety of subjects and a variety of levels within the subjects to accommodate all people, although she does acknowledge it’s hard not to get ‘bogged down by external pressures from peers and parents’.

She believes there are so many ways to achieve whatever career interests you and that the Leaving Cert is ‘merely a stepping stone in that direction’.

“For me the Leaving Cert is a very intense yet pleasant experience,” she said.

The Leaving Certificate is different for everyone – but, as Anna Flaherty says to all her students, at the end of the day the most positive, encouraging thing to say to your child is to do their best.

“That’s all that matters in life; then you can always be proud regardless of the results.”