Good wishes have been extended to students beginning their Junior Cycle or Leaving certificate exams today. In all a total of 131,431 students are starting exams today.
The Junior cycle exams are being held for the first time since 2019 due to the pandemic.
The Leaving certificate students are sitting modified papers to take account of the disruption caused by the pandemic.
Results for this years LC students will be delayed as they will have to be reviewed to deliver on a government commitment that the results this year will not be lower than the results achieved during the period of accredited grades process used during the pandemic.
There is also a deferred sitting of the Leaving Certificate examinations starting on 30 June for any student who contracts COVID-19 or cannot attend an exam due to COVID-19 symptoms as well as close family bereavement or serious injury or illness.
Meanwhile, the HSE is encouraging students to spot the signs of stress and to know how to manage anxiety related to their exams.
While a bit of stress can help you to stay motivated and focused the HSE says too much can be unhelpful.
The HSE has published a list of tips on how best to manage exam stress.
These include:
- getting a good night’s sleep,
- eating regularly,
- getting exercise,
- taking a break from study,
- taking a longer term perspective as to the importance of the exam and avoiding exam post mortems and instead to looking forward to the next exam or activity.
The HSE also notes that a person is much more than an exam grade.
The HSE is also urging parents and family members to be aware of potential stress during exam time and to support their child/children as best they can and has provided parents with some tips to help with stress during exam time.
These include supporting the actions suggested for students and asking that the parents or guardian don’t add to the pressure.
