How can a parent support their child through the Leaving Cert? 

Exam season begins in just a few weeks’ time and thousands of teenagers will sit the exams they have spent their entire school career being educated for. 

On The Pat Kenny Show, Child and Adolescent Psychotherapist Colman Noctor said the high stakes mean many children will naturally suffer from “high stress and anxiety”. 

“My mother is in her 80s and she still has Leaving Cert nightmares,” he said. 

“So, it’s not new that it’s causing stress and anxiety but I think the expectation and build up around the Leaving Cert over the last number of years has certainly gained momentum. 

“Now we have young people stressing about Leaving Cert in First and Second Year - which we never had before.” 

A pupil sitting his exam. Picture by: AG News/Alamy Live News.

While the Leaving Cert has been around for generations, Dr Noctor believes it is taken more seriously than ever. 

“The level of scrutiny and performance expectation on these children is beyond anything that I would have witnessed in my many years of doing this job,” he said. 

“So, while there may be individual qualities within the children that are causing them to struggle, the environment is incredibly difficult at the same time. 

“I think as adults, we find it hard to comprehend what it’s like.” 

Okay to be average?

Dr Noctor added that people should consider it acceptable to obtain an average result for something. 

“What would be considered a reasonable Leaving Cert in 1998 is considerably different to the one that is now,” he said. 

“That’s a real concern; the bar of expectation has gone up and up - and it only goes up every year. 

“I think we’ve demonised average, so average is no longer good enough - but by definition, most of us will be average.

“But if we all want to be above average, then we consign a huge amount of people to feel disappointed or feeling disgruntled.” 

For those parents who end up disappointed with their results, Dr Noctor said it is important to keep things in perspective. 

“We seem to think that being mentally healthy is where you don’t feel sad or you don’t feel disappointed,” he said. 

“That’s a really wrong message; being mentally healthy is how you manage the inevitable failures, disappointments and things like that. 

“It’s not about having an adversity free childhood but it’s about supporting children through the inevitable adversity that occurs.” 

Main image: Pupils await the start of their exams. Picture by: Alamy.com.