“I would like to wish all students starting their Junior Cycle and Leaving Certificate examinations today the very best of luck. These exams are the culmination of many days and nights of hard work and I wish you the very best wherever they take you."

“The exams are a milestone in your education and you shouldn’t lose sight of the fact that there are many paths to a rewarding life."

“There are now more options and opportunities for you than ever before, whether your focus is on a skill, a trade, a college or university course or all the new and older apprenticeships and traineeships."

“Considerable work has been done this year, both in the department and in the State Examinations Commission, to try and ease the levels of stress some students experience."

“We extended the Leaving Certificate timetable by two days to minimise subject clashes and limit, as much as possible, the occasions when students have to sit three exams. We want to give students the best chance possible."

“I also announced last week a more compassionate approach for students who suffer a close family bereavement at the Leaving Certificate examinations."

“At Junior Cycle, students are sitting Business Studies and Science exams having already completed work accounting for 10 per cent of their marks. It is the first time this initiative has been in place and it’s just one of many small steps to improve the system."

“We are lucky to have such dedicated and professional teachers and staff in our schools. Along with parents, they put in hard work every year to help young people prepare for exams and ensure they have much-needed support."

“You also feel the stress. You all try to ensure that everything that can be done, is done. And I want to thank you all for your efforts and again the best of luck to all students sitting the state exams.”

“Over the next fifteen days Junior Cycle and Leaving Certificate students will be working hard to demonstrate all they have learnt over the last few years. It is a challenging time for all, but don’t forget that you are more than the outcomes of an examination. Your future is what you make of it."

“Keep in mind all that you have learnt in school beyond your academic subjects. Your skills of communication, resilience and decision-making, your entrepreneurial skills, creativity and your confidence. Many of these skills are the very attributes that can help you when facing into these certificate examinations."

“A group deserving of special mention at this time are the mature students who have chosen to sit the Certificate examinations. Some of these students are parents of students doing exams themselves. You have taken the brave step of returning to education.”

“I would like to send good wishes to all students sitting the Certificate examinations. While I acknowledge the importance of these examinations for all of you, I encourage you not to lose sight of the full range of opportunities open to you, from higher and further education to traineeships and apprenticeships. Or should you decide to enter directly into the world of work I wish you well. But keep in mind the possibility of returning to education or training as a mature student or, more importantly, understand and maximise the opportunities open to you through the world of lifelong learning.”

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Notes to the Editor: