An Irish Diary

Exam diary: ‘I’m hearing vicious rumours that there will be sunshine’

Osas Aghabueze-Ayo hopes to use a lull in his exams to play some football at long last

Leaving cert diary: Coláiste Éinde Galway Leaving Certificate student Osas Aghabueze-Ayo. Photograph: Joe O’Shaughnessy/The Irish Times

Osas Aghabueze-Ayo
Wed Jun 14 2017 - 10:44

I finished the biology paper over half an hour early.

We’re not really supposed to do that but somehow I flew through it. I used the extra time to look over my answers one more time and I managed to improve on a few of them.

I wasn’t the only one to leave early. We all felt that the short questions were tricky but the long questions – especially the one on ecology – made up for it.

French will be my last exam. Six days later, I will sit down to the economics paper.

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I’m hearing vicious rumours that there will be sunshine over those six days, and as that has been in short supply during this year’s exams – so much for Leaving Cert weather – I fully intend to step outside.

The plan is to meet up with some of the lads and play some football.

I’m the captain

I’ve missed football. I’m the captain of St Michael’s minor GAA team, but I had to put it on hold for the past few months and knuckle down to the study.

I’m hoping to get into the biopharmaceutical science course at GMIT and have been working hard towards that goal.

I like the campus at GMIT and think it has the right kind of atmosphere for me.

My parents have been really encouraging. I moved to Ireland from Nigeria when I was just three or four, so I don't remember growing up anywhere else and three of my four siblings were born here; the youngest is just six.

Being from Nigeria, they didn’t do the Leaving Cert although my dad did go to university and he really believes in education.

Study tips All through school, if I was ever struggling with a subject or a question, he was there to give me study tips and advice and it has made such a difference.

Sixth year, for all the pressure, was the best year of my school life.

The teachers became easier to talk to and treated us like adults. And the class got on better; everyone started to become more confident and we could be who we really are.

I will miss them, but I’m looking forward to what comes next.

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