High temperatures to continue

An extra burden for students beginning Leaving and Junior Cert exams

Anton McNulty

Temperatures are expected to soar to close to 23 degrees Celcius across Mayo on Wednesday just as thousands of Leaving Cert and Junior Cert students sit down to begin their exams.
The heatwave which the county experienced last week is set to continue this week but will be a mixed bag of warm temperatures and thundery showers. The temperatures for today (Tuesday) are expected to reach highs of 20 to 23 degrees Celsius with heavy thundery showers and localised downpours later today.
Met Éireann is forecasting a similar outlook on Wednesday, with temperatures to be in the low 20s. Coastal areas are expected to be cooler due to sea breezes. A mixture of cloud and sunshine is forecast for Thursday and Friday, with temperatures expected to be in the low 20s, but with the threat of heavy showers.
Mayo was one of the warmest counties in the country last week, with temperatures of 26.1 degrees Celsius recorded in the Met Éireann weather station in Furnace, Newport last Tuesday, May 29. It was the second-highest recorded temperature in Ireland last week, with the mercury rising by just 0.2 degrees more in Shannon Airport on the same day.
The warm temperatures would have come as an unwelcome distraction to the thousands of second level students who are preparing for their state exams.
This year 1,658 students are expected to sit the Leaving Cert with 1,764 students expected to sit the Junior Cert in Mayo tomorrow morning. Starting on Wednesday with English for both sets of students, the Junior Cert exams run up to Wednesday, June 20, and Friday, June 22, for the Leaving Cert.
Seventy-four students are also set to sit the Leaving Cert Applied, which also gets under way tomorrow and is to run until Thursday, June 14.  Mr Pat Burke, chairperson of the State Examinations Commission (SEC), extended his best wishes on behalf of the SEC to all sitting the State examinations in 2018.
“The State examinations are a milestone for students, their families and schools. The reassurance of families and the wider community is an essential support for students sitting examinations. The board and staff of the State Examinations Commission are very aware of the effort which students, their families and schools have invested in the forthcoming examinations and extend their best wishes to all,” he said.
The results of the Leaving Certificate examinations will be available on Wednesday, August 15, while the results of the Junior Certificate will be available in mid-September.