My Leaving Cert: Ronan O'Gara
I sat my Leaving Certificate in the Presentation College in Cork in 1996. Along with the regular pressures of exams I had to deal with a rigorous training schedule. It was a difficult time.
It was really hard to study that year. As well as the rugby training the weather was beautiful, and the lure of the soccer pitch and the golf course often got the better of me. My parents were both academics and kept pushing me back up the stairs with warnings of consequences of a "bad Leaving". There was the odd scuffle over the amount of training I was doing, but in the main they let me get on with my sporting activities.
My parents were good at keeping a calm atmosphere in the house at exam time, and whoever was studying got a bit of special treatment. It didn't stop me from getting slightly panicky towards the end, however.
I dreaded the science subjects. Looking back, I probably should have taken business organisation or geography instead of physics and chemistry. I think they are easier subjects to get high points in. The thing is, I actually did okay in the end - I got a C1 in both and I thought I was going to fail. My ace in the hole was French - I got a B1.
I expected to do very well in English, too, but something went horribly wrong. When we came out of the English paper 1 on the first day my friend was in bits - he'd misread one of the essay questions and written something completely different from what was asked.
I, on the other hand, was feeling pretty good about my performance. I couldn't believe it when we got the same result. At least he knew what he had done wrong. I was at a loss. I'd been in the top honours class, and my teacher couldn't believe my result either. I even got the paper rechecked but got the same awful grade.
Despite the English debacle I did a good Leaving and got my second CAO choice, Arts at UCC. I went on to do a degree in economics and psychology followed by a Master's in business economics. By the time I got to Master's level, I had finally overcome the tendency to cram and I learned how to study consistently. I never got the hang of good study habits until I got to the stage of studying something I really like.
The best advice I can give to this year's exam students is to read the questions properly. If you write down everything you've learned by heart, ignoring the questions asked, you're in trouble. The Leaving Certificate is the most horrible set of exams you will ever do.
I know that's not very comforting, but at least they'll be over soon.