Exam diary: I know there's supposed to be a renaissance in the Irish language these days but 68 students in one Sligo school were dancing on Gaeilge's grave today.

We were all so delighted at the idea that we would never have to speak a word of Irish again that we barely noticed the sound of Hector sobbing into his colcannon. Suffice it to say it was a horrible exam and I'm glad it's over.

Given that I could only come up with 10 miserable lines on the history of the Irish language I'll be no loss to the movement.

My next challenge will not be so easily forgotten. Failing biology may well come back to haunt me - when I mistake appendicitis for heartburn, for example. But that's Tuesday's headache. I have the little matter of geography to get over before then.

This is the first exam of the new syllabus and we have no idea what to expect. What I do know is that Monday's 80 per cent will be easier on the feet than my project which was worth 20 per cent for a lot of effort.

Cast away on wild and windy wetlands of Glencar to study river formations was a little more than my delicate constitution could bear.

The geography project is a brilliant idea, but don't we have the internet for that sort of thing? I didn't expect to have to deal with actual geography. I get enough of that home on the farm.

And now, patient readers, I leave you. I'll be back at exam time when the bubble of my youth will finally burst.

I need to get this thin Irish skin out into the sun for a bit of irresponsible exposure. I'm whiter than Wayne Rooney's football jersey.

Elaine Black will be writing on her results and her college options in August.