More than 118 thousand students will start their Leaving and Junior Cert exams this morning.
Nearly 55 thousand will sit the Leaving Certificate, including the Vocational Programme, and more than 3 thousand will do Leaving Cert Applied.
A record number of students are planning to sit honours maths for the Leaving Cert, with more than 17 thousand indicating they want to sit the paper, although traditionally around 2 thousand drop down to ordinary maths at the last minute.
More than 60 thousand secondary students will sit the Junior Cert.
Minister of State for Training and Skills, Ciarán Cannon, is urging exam students to keep calm:
Parents can also find the State exams stressful, but they're being urged to stay calm for their kids.
Ian Power from teen website Spun Out Dot ie is encouraging moms and dads to avoid asking too many questions about study and preparation:
