Leaving can drive students to extreme lengths. "Oh my God, I gave Ms McCarry a hug," squealed one shocked but elated student at St Laurence College, in Louglinstown, Co Dublin. "It's a wonderful way to end the year," vice principal Anne McCarry said.

The hugs, squeals and tears, where a while off yet when anxious students began to fill the entrance hall of the school shortly before 9 a.m. They had a nail-biting wait ahead of them as the first precious slips of green paper didn't start to appear until 9.30 a.m. The early birds were doing a good impression of being calm. "There's nothing you can do about it now anyway," Louise Coffee said, "and there's always the repeats."

There were almost 90 repeat students from schools across south Dublin in St Laurence's this year, along with around 70 first-time Leaving Cert student who came up through the ranks of the school.

Repeat student Kathy Rock got the top score of 570 points, up 40 points on her marks last year. "I think I'm in shock, I'm so thrilled," she said. "Medicine in UCD has been my dream forever, I love this piece of paper and I love this place. Miss O'Shea, the career guidance teacher, was brilliant."

Frankie Blaney's points went up by 70 this year, she should now have enough to study her first choice of management and marketing in DIT.

The first-time Leaving Cert students were also getting ready to celebrate. "I was in bits walking in here this morning, but now I'm delighted," Cathy Drummond said. "I got an A1 in business and I'm delighted I passed biology, it was a hard paper. I'm going to do social work, maybe in DIT or in Sallynoggin, just up the road."

Adam Redmond is going further afield for his chosen course. "I want to do journalism in Sunderland and I got a B1 in English so really happy with that."

Seeing her points soar from 285 to 430 was almost too much for Tracey Brophy to take in. "I can't believe it, I didn't think I did that well. I got an A2 in home economics and a C2 in honours English," she said. "The biology paper was terrible and I got an C3 in that. I was more focused this year although it was a tough year because of the strikes but the teachers did their best for us."

As in many schools, the teachers in St Laurence put on extra classes in their own time to make sure the courses were covered and to try to rectify the effect of the disruptions during the year. This school, however, had the extra misfortune to contend with of a fire during the geography exam.

The fire broke out in the school on the morning of June 11th and the building was evacuated a few minutes into the paper. The exam was rescheduled for the following Saturday, but some students were upset by the disruption.

"I was happy enough with my results in home economics, accountancy and business, but I was disappointed with the geography," Cormac O'Brien said. "I think the paper we sat on the Saturday was more difficult than the first one - the whole thing was very disruptive."

First-time Leaving Cert student Patrick Kelly said the disruption was, "very stressful" though he was reasonably happy to get a C3. "We were there for about 10 minutes, so I got to read the whole paper and I think it seemed better than the second one we had to sit," he said.

Vice-principal McCarry said the school worked closely with the students in the days leading up to the rescheduled geography paper. "We were hugely supported by the Department of Education who quickly appreciated and foresaw the problems students might experience. They showed nothing short of absolute concern while at the same time maintaining the integrity of the exams," she said.

Some students were happier with the replacement paper. "I was delighted with my C3 in geography and I don't think I would have done as well on the first paper," Shane McDermot, who hopes to study business and German in DIT, said.

"The points for the course were 380 last year and I got 390 points so I think I should get it. I got a B1 in German and I was very happy with that. I also got a B3 in honours Irish - I don't know how that happened."