A group of teenagers in Tuam, Co Galway, finish their final Leaving Certificate paper today, claiming to be the first full class of Travellers in the State to have completed the exam.

The five Traveller girls have been doing the Leaving Cert Applied exams at the Co Galway Vocational Education Youthreach Training Centre at Airglooney, Tuam, which caters for both settled and Traveller students. This year, however, the Leaving Cert class was filled entirely by Travellers.

"As far as we are aware, this is the first time that a full class of Travellers has done the Leaving Cert anywhere in Ireland and they are all excited about it and anxious to do well in the exams," said Michael McDonagh, co-ordinator at the Tuam centre.

Tuam has an estimated 1,800 Travellers among its population of 8,000, many of them settled. As many as 1,000 of those are teenagers and more of the Traveller girls are now going on to second-level education.

More than a dozen Travellers have also been doing their Junior Certificate exams at St Benin's Centre, Weir Road in Tuam, but Traveller boys are still less likely than girls to continue in education.

"This is the third year that we have had students sitting the Junior Cert and for the first time, we have one lad among the class this year," Bernard Hardiman, manager of the St Benin's Traveller Training Centre, said.