Leaving Cert results: ‘My head is racing. It’s such a shock’

The pressure was on for the students of Adamstown Community College - the first ever class at the school to sit the Leaving Cert - as they picked up their results.

Students at the school featured in this year’s Irish Times Leaving Cert diary, sharing their exam experience with the nation in June.

The happiness was palpable in Natalia Staroscinska’s voice. “I got on really well and got exactly what I wanted, so I’m delighted.

“The 400 points will be more than enough for me to do art in the Institute of Art, Design and Technology in Dún Laoghaire (IADT). I got an A2 in Biology and a B3 in English, which was more than I expected.” She already got top marks for her portfolio exam.

The route to her chosen course is not as clear for Emily Kane. Her impressive score of 470 points is unlikely to be enough for law in Trinity.

She’s 10 points shy of the 2014 requirement for law in Maynooth University, her second choice, but the points could easily change. “I’m already thinking about appealing one or two of my results, which might bring my points up,” she said.

Mumtaz Rostam also secured high points. She got over 500, but she was disappointed because, she thinks, it won't be enough for a place on a medicine course. "I did well on the HPat exam [which is designed to determine suitability for medicine] but probably not well enough."

Like Emily, she’s considering whether to appeal at least one of her papers.

Keith Coffey was weighing up his options and considering his next steps after he picked up his results. He wanted to study theology and arts in St Patrick's College Drumcondra. He still might, but the points would have to fall by 20. "It's a waiting game now, but I have a PLC course as a back-up option."

It was good news for Henry Kareem who, with 270 points, looks like having points to spare if the entry requirements for music production in IADT stay steady. "My head is still racing, it's such a shock and I'm so delighted," he said. "Couldn't be happier."

Another of the diarists, Evelina Siaulyte, has spent the summer in Lithuania and was not back in Ireland for the results. We'll check how she got on and hear more from our diarists in next Monday's First Round Offers College Choice supplement, on the day the CAO offers are released.