From Leaving CertiFiCate to Leaving SChooL a Longitudinal Study ...

Academic Stress and the Leaving Certificate 89
However, many students appeared to put this pressure on themselves
where even during their free time or at weekends, school is ‘still on their
mind’:
You literally don’t get a break from school work, I mean yeah like
we can go out at weekends or whatever but…
But it’s still on your mind.
It’s always on your mind. (Belmore Street, girls’ school, mixed intake)
Other students discussed the guilt associated with having free time because
of the looming presence of the Leaving Certificate exam:
It’s constant pressure, like you just don’t get any relief from it. Because
even at the weekends, if you are not doing something, you feel
guilty and it’s like you can’t get away from it. Even if you have
nothing to do, you’ll still feel guilty like. (Belmore Street, girls’
school, mixed intake)
Students were unhappy about the lack of non-exam subjects in sixth
year, such as P.E., which they felt would help them cope with the increased
stress associated with exam preparation:
We should have P.E., we were supposed to start P.E. this year on a
Thursday but we never did. We used to always either get off, I didn’t
mind getting off, but we used to get off or else someone used to
come in. But you need a bit of P.E., I think, just to get all the stress.
(Barrack Street, girls’ school, working-class intake)
In some cases, students felt that their parents were a source of pressure.
A number of them mentioned being ‘lectured’ by their parents or relatives
about studying or family members comparing them to siblings who
had previously done well in the Leaving Certificate:
I get lectured nearly every day at home from my parents, about how I
should be studying, I need to be studying. (Park Street, boys’ school,
mixed intake)