The Leaving and Junior Certificate examinations began this morning for around 120,000 students around Ireland.
The gruelling timetable for some 56,100 Leaving Cert, 5,000 Applied Leaving Certificate and 57,300 Junior Cert candidates began with the first English paper.
Ireland.comdetected a largely positive response from students who had just finished their exams in Dublin's north inner city this morning.
Leaving Certificate Applied student Kevin Keegan (18) from St Paul's CBS in Brunswick Street pictured after this morning's English & Communication exam.
Kevin Keegan (18) from St Paul's CBS in Brunswick Street said he found his Leaving Certificate Applied English & Communication exam paper "challenging but fair" and said that most of his friends concurred. He felt that his teachers had prepared him well for the exam.
A group of Junior Certificate Ordinary level students gathered outside Mount Carmel Secondary School, Kings Inn Street to discuss the morning's challenges.
Karen Rynne (15) from Blackhorse Avenue, Dublin 7, found the paper very long and thought it harder than the mock English exam. Karina Kidd (15) from Drumcondra thought the paper quite fair and said that her teacher had prepared her well for the exam. Niamh Hand (15) from Summerhill felt that she was stuck for time during the exam and that a little more training on how long to spend on each section would have been helpful.
Some of the essay titles faced by the girls included "Nobody understands me," "The Most Important People in my Life," and "My dream holiday would be..."
Belvedere College students Ronan Smith (18) from Santry and Stephen Lineen (18) from Blanchardstown both sat this morning's Leaving Certificate Honours English exam and found it fair. Essay titles included "The Sheer Joy of Performance" and "The Importance of Work" and both students were happy with what they felt was a broad range of titles to choose from. Both said they had been well prepared by their teachers and were quietly confident heading in to this afternoon's paper.
Bernadette Hynes from Dorset Street pictured at Larkin Community College this morning
Larkin Community College on Parnell Street was where Bernadette Hynes from Dorset Street sat the Leaving Certificate Ordinary Level exam. She said she had been well prepared for the exam but was a little disappointed by what she felt was a poor choice of essay titles. Examples of the titles included "What Home Means to You" and "A Giving Experience." Bernadette also felt confident about this afternoon's paper.
More than 1,500 mature students also began the Leaving Certificate this morning and 789 the Junior Certificate.
The exams are being held in 4,600 centres across the 26 counties.
The intense pressure on students has drawn calls for a redraft of the Leaving Cert timetable from the Teachers' Union of Ireland, which says it is concerned at the effect on students.
The Minister for Education and Science, Mr Dempsey, this morning sent his best wishes to all students sitting the exams.
"I hope that all students perform to the best of their ability," he said. "I know that students will have the help and support of their teachers, parents, families and friends."
The examinations conclude on 25th June, with Leaving Certificate results released on August 18th. Junior Certificate results will be available in mid-September.