Oral exam timetable – ‘unjust and unkind’ to students

Imagine flicking from Irish to speaking French and then straight into Spanish even. Gortaítear mo cheann. Sacré bleu. Es demasiado.

But that’s the cerebral conundrum posed to thousands of teenagers across the country over the recent Easter break, who had to stretch their grey matter to converse competently in three different languages as part of the hectic Leaving Certificate oral exam schedule.

Once again, in 2025, the State Exam Commission dictated that the spoken aspect of language exams should continue to be delivered during the Easter holidays - the same model as adopted during Covid, and further decided that this arrangement will remain in place until at least 2026/27.

The 2025 oral exams were undertaken by SEC appointed examiners in Irish schools in the early part of the Easter holiday period, from Saturday to Thursday, April 12-17 inclusive.

But speaking at the April monthly meeting of elected members, which took place in the midst of the exam period, Fianna Fáil’s Áine Smith described the move as “deeply unfair” and one that raises “serious concerns about student well-being, equity, and the very purpose of academic holidays”.

The schoolteacher views it as a time that should be reserved for “rest, family, and reflection” but says it has become “another source of stress and pressure” for students already navigating, what is considered to be, a “high-stakes” academic year.

“By placing exams during this period, the state disrupts that balance, treating students not as individuals with lives and limits, but as endlessly available participants in an unforgiving system.”

The pressure, says Cllr Smith, is “especially intense” for students who must complete multiple oral exams, “often in different languages all within the same week. Jumping from Irish to French to Spanish, for example, requires not only fluency, but mental agility, confidence, and stamina. These exams are more than just tests of vocabulary; they demand poise under pressure, real-time thinking, and clear communication - all skills that suffer when students are run down or overwhelmed.”

Then there’s the “psychological toll” of compressing such demanding tasks into a “single, shortened week”.

It robs students of the “chance to perform at their best” said Cllr Smith. “Instead of enjoying their time off, students are left rehearsing answers in their heads or feeling guilty for every hour not spent preparing. This contributes to the rising anxiety and burnout we’re seeing among young people, especially around exam time.”

She gave an example of the Irish Oral exam which is worth 40% of the overall Leaving Cert subject grade.

Some students she knows had been scheduled to sit their Spanish exam on Saturday, Irish on Sunday and a third language the following Monday.

“The toll that even one exam takes is huge without having to turn around and face into a second and third for the following two days.”

For her, the decision to continue scheduling exams throughout the Easter holidays amounts to nothing more than “cost saving exercise”.

“Irish is a compulsory subject in the Irish educational system but other subjects like Music and Art can take place throughout the school term. Why not the languages too?” asks Cllr Smith.

With the Leaving Cert now for reform, she said there was an opportunity for the Department of Education to “insist” that languages are given a “fair examination process”.

“Stop taking from the languages and respect the work of the students and teachers in preparation for these extremely important exams. Scheduling oral exams over Easter sends a clear message: student welfare comes second to convenience and cost saving measures. If education is meant to support and uplift, then its structures should reflect that - respecting boundaries, promoting fairness, anything less is not just unkind... it’s unjust.”

Cllr Smith’s motion, and her comments regarding cost saving were supported by Independent Ireland’s Shane P O’Reilly. His eldest was sitting their exams and he said the pressure was “unbearable”, and branded the process as “disgraceful”.

He said with “all the talk about mental health” and young people that there was a definite need for the current exam structure to be looked at. He added that the work done by teachers was “amazing” but sorely undervalued.

“It’s putting serious pressure on students. As a father I’m delighted it’s over.”

He concluded by saying that the staging of exams over the Easter break was “wrong, and totally wrong”.

There was support too for the motion from Sinn Féin’s Stiofán Conaty and Patricia Walsh (FF).

Before any others opted to speak, Cathaoirleach TP O’Reilly took from the reaction that a motion could be adopted unanimously for the council to write to the Minister for Education and SEC outlining their concerns.