Author Liz Nugent sat her Leaving Certificate in 1985 and still has nightmares about itLiz Nugent: ‘I was just one of those kids who did not suit the Irish education system’ Tue Jun 02 2026 - 06:01 • 2 MIN READWhen and where did you sit the Leaving Cert exams?The first time was Holy Child Killiney in 1985. I enjoyed it so much that I decided to do it again in Dún Laoghaire Tech (now IADT) in 1986. What is your most vivid Leaving Cert memory?My mother filling out my CAO form for Medicine Trinity, Medicine UCD, Law Trinity and Law UCD. I had never expressed an interest in law or medicine. I wondered if she had ever met me. Who was your most influential teacher and why?Not a teacher, but the school secretary who took me aside one day and told me that my entire uniform was threadbare. She took me to the lost property office and kitted me out with a brand new uniform, lost or abandoned by richer girls than me. What was your most difficult subject?They were all difficult. I have never been able to learn anything from a book. I’ve learned by doing. I was just one of those kids who did not suit the Irish education system. And your favourite?I had a fondness for Latin because we didn’t just learn the language, we learned the history, politics and architecture of the time. So you got to know how a society worked. That interested me. Can you recall what grades or points you received?I am too embarrassed to reveal. How important were the results for you ultimately?Not important at all.What did you go on to do after secondary school?I went straight to London on the ferry and train. I wanted independence and to earn my own way. At the age of 17, I was living in London, paying rent. I was such a child that I spent my first week’s wages on sweets. I’ve worked ever since. I quit my day job 10 years ago to write full-time. So far, so good. What would you change about the Leaving Cert?I don’t know. I’m 58, and I still have Leaving Cert nightmares. There’s no one-size-fits-all solution. There are a lot of post-Leaving Cert courses now, which probably would have suited me. There wasn’t a work experience transition year when I did it, but I think if I’d done work experience anywhere, I’d never have gone back to school. I thrived after I left school, but at the time, I knew I wasn’t stupid. I just couldn’t prove it on an exam paper. The system suited all my siblings. They all went to college and have degrees coming out their ears. I was very much the black sheep and a massive disappointment. What advice would you give to your Leaving Cert self?Nobody will ever ask you what you got in your Leaving Cert after you leave school. Don’t let it traumatise you. You are not stupid. You are a hard worker. Keep reading.Liz Nugent’s latest novel, The Truth About Ruby Cooper, is published by SandycoveIN THIS SECTION