Party time beckons as happy students make the grade

THERE was no invitation needed. Last night, the country's 57,000 relieved Junior Cert students were only too happy to let their hair down as they celebrated their results.

But for the most part the partying proved relatively quiet in many parts of the country, with many attending school-organised discos and enjoying cinema trips.

The youth organisation, the alcohol-free No Name Club, had urged teenagers to look out for their friends and to celebrate their results without turning to alcohol.

Con Nolan, chief executive of the No Name Club, said its string of clubs had lined up alcohol-free activities to mark the Junior Cert celebrations.

School principals have been pushing for the results date to be switched to a Friday as they believe it would be more difficult to rent venues on a weekend, when they are being used by older crowds.

They are eager to avoid students missing school on the morning after the results.

Meanwhile, road safety bosses had joined in the warnings, urging parents to talk to their sons and daughters about celebrating their results safely.

They issued the warning as new figures from the Road Safety Authority (RSA) revealed young adults aged between 14 and 16 - the age of most Junior Cert students - were three times more likely to be killed or maimed in a road collision than those under 14.

'As a parent, the worst news you could hear is that something has happened to your child,' Noel Brett, chief executive of the RSA, said.

He warned peer pressure could often lead young people to get into a car with an unlicensed driver, travel in an overcrowded vehicle or with someone driving dangerously.

A survey from Alcohol Action Ireland (AAI) indicated it cost just €6 to become drunk in Ireland. This is less than the minimum hourly rate of €6.06 for workers under-18.

- Louise Hogan and Cormac Cronin Martin

Irish Independent