There's more to life than the Leaving Cert, says Conor Faughnan and luckily he went to a school that was amenable to that attitude

I WENT TO St Michael's College on Mlesbury Road in Ballsbridge, Dublin, for the bulk of my second-level career. For various reasons I had several different primary schools.

I went to Rathdown primary school, then I went to another school that closed down. I wound up going to three or four schools - in fact, I was a bit of a vagrant in terms of my school career.

For the start of second level, I went to Roscrea, Co Tipperary. It was a boarding school and the regime was pretty strict. It was a good way to knock corners off yourself.

I was in Roscrea for only two years. That's why I regard St Michael's with more affection: I was there longer - right up to when I did the Leaving Cert.

I have nothing but happy memories of St Michael's. Myself and my two brothers found it remarkably relaxed after Roscrea. We thrived and made good friends there - I have nothing but praise for it.

The friends I made there are still the same gang of pals that I have. We all turn up for the senior cup rugby matches.

I have one older and one younger brother. I suppose the school regarded us as a job lot, but we were very different - and we had very different peer groups.

There were 80 in my year. I remember a lot of the teachers with a good deal of respect - in particular, Noel Turley, dean of discipline in the senior school. He was genuinely respected. Everybody went through his hands at some stage.

It's interesting to note that St Michael's is now regarded as a very good rugby school. In our time it was dreadful - mind you, almost from the moment we left the team's fortunes improved. They got to the final of the senior cup this year, where they were beaten by Belvedere.

In our year we were charmingly laid back. We liked the school and the school liked us. We had our 10-year reunion last year. There was a good turn-out and everyone seemed to have the same affectionate memory of the school.

Academic standards were good, but that is not why I have such happy memories. It was a pleasant place to go.

Speaking for myself, I was perennially lazy. In broad figurative terms, my schooling before had been under duress, with someone standing behind me with a whip. Being a house plant by nature, the relaxed environment of St Michael's suited me.

I made friends there and I enjoyed school. There's more to life than the Leaving Cert and points and academic achievement.