We’re nearly there.Leaving Cert 2026 started two weeks ago today. Since then there have been 22 exams over 11 days, with almost 67,000 students sitting papers.We went back to our student diarists this week to see how they’d found it so far. “I’m surviving. I haven’t cried yet, which is a win and just taking it day by day. It’s not as bad as I thought it would be,” Kayleigh Quinn said.Momin Bari told us that doing the exams turned out to be not quite as bad as the thoughts of doing them.“I think the lead-up to the exams was a lot more stressful than the actual exams itself,” he said.You can catch up with some of diarists on video here. For the parents reading this, our columnist John Sharry has some advice on how to help anxious children through the exams.“My son is in the middle of the Leaving Certificate and he has found it stressful so far. He was disappointed at how he did in the maths paper and that knocked him off course. He has two exams left. I know it is late in the day but is there anything we can do to help him to get through these?” a parent asks.Listen to him, provide practical support and care and hold a long-term perspective, John says.You can read his full advice here. This week Jen Hogan also spoke to psychologist Malie Coyne on how parents and students can stay motivated for the final hurdle.“I know many students will be counting down the hours until it’s over, but ... It takes resilience. Keep going, the finish line is in sight,” she says. You can read that article here.Don’t forget we are publishing full paper reviews of almost every subject, so be sure to catch yours on our Education page. Keep trucking – it’s almost done.