Galway students put pen to paper in State examinations

Coláiste na Coiribe students Mairead Divilly, Tara Spelman and Róisín O'Shea who sat the Junior Certificate English paper 1 exam on Wednesday. Photo:-Mike Shaughnessy

By Martina Nee

It is that time of year again as more than 6,200 Galway students but pen to paper during a series of examinations taking place over the next two weeks.

As many of us will attest, examinations such as the Junior Certificate and in particular the Leaving Certificate can be a very nerve-wracking experience. Year after year second level students file into examination halls throughout the country to demonstrate their knowledge, accumulated over many years of study, in an exam lasting just a few hours.

This year’s exams in Leaving Certificate, the Leaving Certificate Applied, and the Junior Certificate, kicked off yesterday [Wednesday, June 6] with some 116,774 candidates taking their seats in 4,786 examination centres nationwide where an estimated three million papers will be handed out during the 13-day examination period.

Figures from the State Examinations Commission (SEC) show that in Galway the predicted Leaving Certificate entries for 2012 are female 1,491, male 1,521, giving a total of 3,012. Candidates sitting the Leaving Certificate Applied are female 43, male 56, giving a total of 99. In the Junior Certificate examinations the figures for Galway are female 1,541, male 1,635, giving a total of 3,176.

In the Leaving Certificate, English Paper One was the first exam yesterday morning followed by Home Economics, Scientific and Social exam from 2pm to 4.30pm. This morning [Thursday, June 7] will be the turn of the engineering exam followed by English Paper Two between 2pm and 5.20pm. Tomorrow (Friday, June 8) is Geography from 9.30 to 12.20 and Mathematics, Paper One from 2pm to 4.30pm. Next week will see students sitting subjects such as Mathematics Paper Two, both Irish papers, Biology, Business, Art, Construction Studies, Classical Studies, French, and German. During the third week of exams, from Monday June 18, students will be tackling physics, chemistry, accounting, Spanish, Design and Communication, Economics, Agricultural Economics, Agricultural Science, music, religious education, Italian, Technology, and Applied Mathematics. SEC figures show that some of the most popular Leaving Certificate subjects nationally, apart from Irish, English, and Mathematics, are Biology (31,343), French (26,591), Geography (26,390), History (12,218), and Home Economics (12,120).

Sending his best wishes, and those of his fellow commissioners, to all those sitting State examinations was SEC chairman Richard Langford who said: “Today [Wednesday] candidates across the country begin the state examinations and finally have the opportunity to demonstrate the wide range of skills and competencies they have acquired during their many years of study. Everyone involved in the examinations process is aware that this can be a difficult and stressful time for candidates and their parents but a calm and positive approach together with the ongoing support of family and schools can help students reach their potential. The staff and commissioners of the SEC will continue to focus on providing a high quality examination service which operates openly and transparently for the benefit all of candidates. I wish all those sitting State examinations in 2012 every success”.

The examinations will run until Friday, June 22, for Leaving Certificate subjects, and until Thursday, June 21, for Junior Certificate subjects, while the written examinations for the Leaving Certificate Applied programme finish on Thursday, June 14. Leaving Certificate results are due out on Wednesday, August 15, while results for the Junior Certificate will be available in mid-September.