It was shortly after 9.30 a.m. last Wednesday when the first few anxious students arrived to collect their results from Maynooth post-primary school, Co Kildare. Anxiety soon gave way to relief as students unfolded their green slips and began totting up their marks. "Everybody seemed very happy," said school principal Sean Ashe. "It was a solid result across the board from the highest achievers to those who are not so academic and I'm confident that the majority will get their first choice." . Two of the first to arrive at the school were Erica O'Dea and David Campbell, both of whom were "delighted but surprised" by their marks.

"I'm shocked," said Erica, "I'm so happy I did this well." Erica sat five honours and two ordinary-level subjects and intends to go into the civil service. "I've already got the civil service exam and I've got the honours I need too." Erica and David have both escaped the tension of the points race as neither are going for courses within the CAO system. "I've been offered a couple of sports scholarships to America," said David, a promising young athlete, who runs 800 metres. "I'm going to hold off for a year though, and do a private course in physical therapy in Stillorgan." David needed C grades in biology and English for acceptance into the course and got a B in both subjects. "I'm especially happy about English because I only got a C in the Junior Cert," he said.

This year's top score of 555 points went to Sinead Keenan, who said she was "overwhelmed" by the result. "I got A1s in English and German and A2s in maths, French and chemistry," she said. "I can't believe the English - it's so subjective - you've no idea what you might get." Sinead hopes to go on to study psychology and Italian in Trinity College, Dublin. Last year, this course settled at 530 points in the final round. "Hopefully the points will go my way. So long as they don't change dramatically I should be okay." The entrance hall began to fill up around 10 a.m. with a mixture of relieved, but rather subdued, students phoning home and the new arrivals anxiously waiting to collect their marks.

Although students had the option of receiving their results by phone this year, Ashe said that none of his 120 Leaving Cert students availed of the service. "By the end of the day I had just one uncollected envelope sitting in the office." While he thought the phone line was a "good initiative", he said that the pin numbers had been given out rather late and he had received many calls from students who had lost their pin numbers. "It's a good idea and in future years it will probably prove a great facility for quieter students who would rather get their results at home in their own time." Student, Barbara McCann, said she would be reluctant to use the phone line. "I wouldn't like anyone telling me my results over the phone, it's better when you're with your friends," she said. Barbara felt she would need to see the results to be certain of her marks. "I wouldn't trust it (the phone line); I'd want to see the bit of paper." Barbara sat a mixture of honours and pass subjects and she was pleased with what I got. "I did pass maths and I was particularly happy with getting that." Karen Brady said she would also prefer to get her results from the school.

"I did think about using the phone line, but I don't think I'd have lasted until after 12," she said, "I needed to know as soon as I woke up this morning." However, Karen's brother, who also sat the Leaving this year, opted to use the phone service.

Maynooth is a unique town in that it has primary, second level and third-level facilities, all within a hundred metres of each other. This, says Ashe, gives the school its strong educational ethos. "One thing we're happy about here is the number of students we hold on to until Leaving Cert." The school is one of 10 coed vocational schools within Kildare VEC. As well as the traditional exam, it offers the Leaving Cert Vocational Programme, which Ashe says has a good take-up rate. "It really helps the students who would be average academic achievers."

Caroline Healy said that the options available in the school had really helped her to achieve her goals. "I didn't even expect to pass, I'm very happy, I'm really glad to have got here." The welcoming atmosphere in the school attracted many students to return from holiday destinations to receive their results. "I was down in Co Clare for the summer and I came home specially to get my results," said Kathy Kelleher, who earned an impressive 535 points. Kathy was particularly pleased with her A1 in German. "I did an exchange last year, so I was hoping to do well," she said.

By 1.30 p.m. everyone had received their results and, according to Ashe, had left in good humour to celebrate their achievements with family and friends.