HOLY FAITH CLONTARF:BY NOON yesterday the nail-biting, guesswork and sleepless nights were over for thousands of students who had finally totted up their Leaving Cert points.
The yard of Holy Faith secondary school in Clontarf, Dublin, lay virtually empty, breathing easy after a hectic morning that was no doubt filled with tears and hugs, condolences and congratulations.
Outside its gates stood two of the class of 2011, chatting contentedly with their friends from a nearby school, grades finally in hand.
“I’m delighted, I did better than I thought I did,” said Danielle Travers (18). “I wasn’t really thinking about them [the results], but last night and this morning was very nervy – this morning especially, I couldn’t have my breakfast.”
Danielle got 440 points, more than enough to get her first choice college course, she hoped.
There was similar success for her classmate Ella Brazel (18) who, like Danielle, lives in Clontarf. “I want to do Chinese and international business in DIT – I’m just excited to finally go to college now.”
Joining the Holy Faith girls were twins Katie and Ruth Byrne (18), who attended Manor House School in Raheny.
Sibling rivalry can be especially evident between twins and it came to the fore yesterday after they opened their envelopes and added up the points.
“I beat her by five,” said Ruth, while Katie, with a laugh, quickly added: “I’m still the smarter one though.”
Both needed a little bit of parental advice in the morning to keep emotions in check.
“They were at work and they just said hope you are happy and whatever you get, don’t worry, you will get something,” Ruth said.
In truth, by noon the minds of all four girls were firmly fixed on the celebrations to come, which included a two-week holiday to Crete.
“We are getting a bus out to Wright’s tonight [the Wright Venue nightclub] and the bus home,” Ella said, “but we’ll get the bus to drop us at a party somewhere.”
It was also an emotional day for teachers and principals as they awaited news of their students.
“We had a maths teacher here knocking at the window at half seven, looking to see how their class got on,” said Maureen Walsh, principal of Holy Rosary College in Mountbellew, Co Galway.
“We bring them in one by one and give them the results. Some of them are so nervous they can’t add up the points” she added.
“There was a brilliant atmosphere here, we had a fantastic class who had a great work ethic and really bonded with each other.”
For schools such as Holy Rosary that hold graduation and debs dances before the Leaving Cert, this was the last time these students would gather together in the schools in which they spent up to six years studying.