Last-minute marathon slog not the way recommended

My Leaving Cert: Gordon D'Arcy It's coming up to the sixth anniversary of my Leaving and only with the benefit of hindsight can I look objectively at my school days, and the exams.

Transition Year should have seen the start of my assault on the Leaving Cert but rugby took centre stage and I ambled my way through fourth and fifth year.

In my final year in school I had the same major distraction - rugby. I had Leinster Schools, Irish Schools and a long Senior Schools Cup campaign.

I could have easily used this as an excuse for a bad Leaving Cert and given up before I even started but instead I decided to make a real go of it.

Following a little well-timed advice and a swift kick in the rear from a man I hugely respected (Mr Vincent Murray), I was, thankfully, put on the right track and he is still a huge influence in my life.

Unfortunately this meant making up for lost time. The last few months at school almost passed me by and looking back on them they seem like one big blur. It was the same routine everyday: up at 6.30 a.m., studying until 11 p.m., and flopping into bed. This approach required a lot of coffee and I was getting through a large jar every four to five days.

After the exams I couldn't face the stuff for months! This is not an approach I would recommend to people studying for their Leaving Cert - if I had my chance again I would try to maintain a reasonable level throughout the study period.

As for the actual exams, I remember being so nervous and worried that the last couple of months of studying would not be enough, and I was annoyed with myself for not working harder from the word go. I didn't realise at the time that over the years some information had actually sunk in. But this is only with the benefit of hindsight. At the time I had every good luck charm under the sun and had never prayed so much in my life!

As with everything, the expectation is the worst - what's coming up?, did I study this?, why didn't I study that? The self doubting you experience in the days before the exams is overpowering and everyone deals with it in his own way.

The two extremes in regard to emotions on exam day amaze me - the nervous laughs before the exam, and mix of relief and despair after. But once that last exam is over, its just pure exhilaration. The freedom of the summer awaits, and the results seem so far away, they don't even factor for a couple of months. Then, as the end of August approaches, it's time for my good friend, stress, to return.

The day of the results will stick in my mind forever. On getting my 'pink slip' I went off to calculate the points I had achieved. I was very disappointed with the outcome and I felt I hadn't done myself justice. As Dad was comforting me, my sister was studying my results and she felt the points were not in line with my grades. Sure enough, my sums were over 100 points out and for once, I was happy to be in the wrong.

Looking back, one of the benefits of my boarding school (Clongowes) was the structured study routine, even at weekends. When you are made sit down in a study hall for two hours, no matter how reluctant you are, information filters through and over the years, it builds up to resemble some form of academic base. I'm not suggesting that my minimalist approach is the way to go - far from it. To get a good Leaving Cert requires hard work and dedication. I probably did more work than I thought, even though some of my teachers would disagree. But I have the results to back it up.

The Leaving Cert is tough; there is no doubt about it. To survive it is a real test of your mental strength and resolve. Most people say that there are few exams harder than the Leaving Cert and this is certainly my experience. This is not because of the level of difficulty of the exams but, for me, because it was my first experience of real pressure and the first major hurdle that life had put in front of me.