"They see us as exam numbers, we're much more than that."
A former Leaving Cert student has called for an option for students dealing with bereavement to be allowed to take their exams a few weeks later.
Rhona Butler has recalled how she was forced to sit her Leaving Cert business exam the day after her mother died of cancer.
Rhona's Leaving Cert started on June 6, but her mother died on June 13.
Speaking to Ryan Tubridy on RTE this morning she told of the difficulties of trying to study while her mum was sick.
Recalling how she had to go into school the very next day after her mum's tragic passing she said: "My school couldn't have done anything for me, they would have if they could have... I didn't want to make it any more abnormal than it was'".
After her mother's funeral on Saturday, Rhona was then back on Monday to complete her accounting exam.
And now she is making a plea for any students in a similar position to her to be allowed to take their exams a few weeks later, rather than waiting a whole year more.
"If I didn't show up on the day, that was my problem. It wasn't the department's, they didn't care.
"They see us as exam numbers, we're much more than that," she said.
Rhona explained how there are two sets of papers that they chose from so she reasoned that students in the middle of bereavement could take those exams two weeks later rather than at the time of their beloved's death.
"It's not fair on the student, it's not fair on the family and it's not fair on the school either."
