The Lee flows quietly by. It's typical exam weather . . . hot in the city with the sun beating down on Cork's College of Commerce. Inside 30 students are gearing up to sit their Leaving Cert exam for the first time.

The air of industry and determination is palpable in their classroom, but there's no shrieking tension or nervousness. That's because these students are grown-up. They are adults. They bear the marks of maturity - eyes and expressions that tell their own stories. It's their second experience of second-level education - a kind of second chance saloon.

Going back to school for Gary Corbett was "very difficult at the start", but then, he says, "as I got into it, I got used to it." He was given nine months leave from the Army to study for the Leaving Cert. Like the other students in his class, he's ready and anxious to get on with it. He left school at the start of the 1980s.

"I'm not terrified," he says today. "It's important to me but if it all goes pear-shaped what can I do, you just get it over with, you just do it. You try your best and do it, that's all you can do."

The others nod in agreement. The year has been tough, they say, but they knew it wouldn't be easy. As Susan Holland-O'Leary, one of their teachers, says, a number are married with children. "Some of them have a lot of commitments looking after their families and yet they are so disciplined." Unlike many younger students, Corbett explains, "we know there's life after the Leaving Cert."

Corbett did his Inter Cert in 1982 and went into the Army. "Opportunities in the '80s were not great but I always wanted to go back," he says. "It was in my mind since I left school that I should have kept going."

Vincent Coyle, from Ballincollig, also went into the Army after school. "I left school in the early '60s because of economic reasons, it was part of those times. But I always thought that I would have the ability to do the Leaving. I'm looking forward to the end and looking back with great satisfaction. I'd attribute that to the fellow students in the class."

History is his favourite subject. "Because of my age - I'm middle-aged - I seem to be able to put things into place more easily." But he adds: "I like all the subjects that I'm doing". As D-Day approaches, he says he's not nervous. "I appreciate that while it has its difficulties, I can manage it."

It's the same for Claire Nolan, from Kildare, who dropped out of school some years ago to work. "I do regret that," she says. Now she's glad she's nearing the end of a long year of study. The last couple of months have been hard, she says. "There's not enough time. It's been a great experience but I just want to get it over with at this stage." Smiling, she says: "I've proved to myself that I can do it." Louise Keenan, from Cork, who also left school early, always "regretted not doing my Leaving Cert". She's come back to do the exam "basically to better myself. It was a big decision." Now she's "anxious to be finished" and experience "the relief when it's all over".

Up to 50 places are offered each year to those who want to sit the Leaving Cert exam for the first time by Cork College of Commerce, according to Miriam de Barra, director of the course. There are 30 in the class this year. They have a hefty body of work to cover in that time, studying the two-year course in one year.

Suzanne Twomey, their English teacher, compares them to the other students. "There's a great level of maturity" (amongst the adult students), she says, looking down at these very same students who sit listening with rapt attention, enjoying her praise and the positive feedback. There isn't a cough as she continues. "They are here by choice, not because of State requirements, and that reflects on the way they behave, their attitudes."

And, she says, "when they do an essay, it's much more mature. They bring their own experiences to bear. It's much easier to write about some things they know. They have lived that bit longer - they have that much wider experience to draw on. They know there's life after the Leaving Cert. It's not going to be the be-all and end-all. And they're more grounded."

From the start, says Twomey, the adult group "tend to bond better together. They're a smaller group. They study and discuss things together."

David Morgan, from Cork, was in fifth year when he dropped out of school about two years ago because of illness. This time he's "more focused and more determined to get it. I find maths the hardest. Geography is my favourite, it's interesting."

David McKeown, also from Cork, dropped out of school three years ago at the start of sixth year because he was being bullied. "There was too much of a social divide (in the school). It just mounted up." The year at the College of Commerce was "tough", he says, "but I just do my best and hope for the best. I feel stronger because I've gone through a lot of emotions." But he's determined. "You don't get social divisions here. There's less pressure, they are always joking and that takes the pressure off of us."

Nicola Buckley, a student from Fairhill, left school seven years ago after doing her Junior Cert. She worked in catering. "But I wasn't getting anywhere in the job. It wasn't a hard decision to come back. I needed some kind of qualification. I find it tough now coming up to the exams. I just can not wait for it to be over."

Siobhan Armstrong, from Carraigaline, "always intended to come back". She left school "only a couple of years ago". She wants to go on to university.

Another classmate, Alan Coffey, from Blarney, has been given time off from the Army to study for his Leaving Cert. "I always wanted to go back," he says.

The atmosphere is "very good. I wouldn't be nervous," he explains. "Now, as adults, we want to be there. You sort of resent it as a child. Now you want to do it rather than have to do it.

Stephen Cawley, from Ballincollig, is also on leave from the Army. "I always wanted to go back and do the Leaving Cert," he says. "I suppose because I'm an adult I can grasp things a lot quicker, like Philadelphia, Here I Come. Being an adult, I've actually experienced some of the details that were in the plays. I can relate to it. That's what's easier about it."

Susan Holland-O'Leary says the adult learners are "tremendous people". They are totally committed. It's that mix of ages and maturity that contributes to the success of a class."

In the beginning, she says, the students "lack confidence" and "you have to work on that, trying to eliminate that embarrassment. It's important that the feel free to ask the questions."