Blackrock College pupil gets nine A1s

Dublin Blackrock College student Joe O’Sullivan recorded an impressive nine A1s and one A2 in his Leaving Certificate.

Joe (18), who is from Kenmare, Co Kerry, has boarded at Blackrock Collegefor the last two years. His family returned from London when he was 11.

The student got A1s in maths, French, Spanish, Latin, biology, chemistry, physics, music and applied mathematics and an A2 in English. He was exempted from learning Irish after the Junior Certificate having lived in the UK.

He will now go on to study medicine at Cambridge University having had a conditional offer based on getting six As in his Leaving Certificate, a bar he made comfortably.

He chose Blackrock College because of its location and because it offered him the subject choice.

He had to do 5th year twice because he was too young to go into his Leaving Certificate.

His workload was such that he didn't even get to all his classes for his 10 subjects.

"The school let me take split subjects as I'd go to some classes and I'd go to other classes the next day. I wouldn't go to all the classes for some subjects," he revealed.

When he wasn't studying he played piano and flute in the school orchestra. "I was very busy with the music side in the school," he said. "The music took up a lot of time, but it was worth it for relaxing."

Joe credits his outstanding results with the boarding school environment, the quality of teaching and a "bit of luck".

"I wanted to do a good few subjects and there was only a few schools in the country that all the subjects on offer and would allow me to take so many," he said.

"I loved boarding straight away. It was a great school in every sense," he said. He got seven A1s in his mock exams, but did not expect to do even better than that in the Leaving Certificate. "It was luck of the draw on the day," he said modestly.

His father Gerard owns MGE Wholesale in Killarney; his mother Bernadette owns an Irish dancing school.