So, the waiting is nearly over as the much anticipated/dreaded Leaving Cert results are announced this week. Just a couple more sleepless nights to toss and turn through and the remnants of any remaining finger nails to nibble before the big ‘reveal’.

It’s a tough time for the students who have worked so hard and for whom so much of their future depends on the results – will they have the number of points they need for their chosen third level course, will all the hard work have paid off?

While, at this stage, we all know that there is nothing that can be done now to change the outcome on results day, it’s still worth being prepared for all eventualities. As parents we can talk to our children about the possible outcomes and about what alternatives might be considered if the results aren’t what they are hoping for. We can talk about how they will cope with disappointment and how they might celebrate success sensibly (another aspect of the results day which can cause a whole other set of worries for parents).

As anyone who has ever sat an exam of any kind knows, it’s an awful feeling waiting for those results. With school exams, and particularly with the Leaving Cert, those feelings are magnified – all those years of education seem to boil away into nothing  - leaving just this, just one single day and some numbers which may define everything our children go on to do from that point.

Whatever happens on Wednesday, I suspect it would be helpful to have tissues and very big hugs at the ready – whether in consolation or celebration. Let’s hope is the latter.

An article in today’s The Irish Times provides useful insights into the average CAO points obtained last year.

Schooldays.ie has a special Leaving Certificate Results page which provides valuable information on all the different resources and help lines available to students and their parents on wednesday.

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