A record 135-thousand students are due to sit the State exams today.
Both Junior and Leaving Certs will sit English papers from 9.30 this morning.
It's the first time this year's sixth years are facing a formal State exam, as their Junior Cert was cancelled during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Minister Norma Foley, says getting this far is a huge achievement.
'I want to acknowledge as well that when one person in the house is taking an exam, I always feel that the whole house is taking the exam, so I want to acknowledge the support that comes from families parents and guardians and siblings as well, so it's a great great achievement to have gotten to this point in your education and I would always say to my students, all will be well, everything does work out in the end.'
