Despite the fact that we are still in the middle of the 'summer' and that schools aren't back for another three weeks or so, most of us will be aware that mid-August is a very important time for a particular group of students each year.

This morning, as people throughout the county read the Galway Independent as part of their Wednesday routine, some students, their families and teachers will be more anxious about reading something else entirely.

As principal of Galway's Park College, Patricia Maloney is well rehearsed on the excitements and disappointments of leaving results day.

"The day starts early when we collect the results, usually around 7am," Patricia explains. "Then there's a process of allocating them to the appropriate student and analysing results so that by 9am then we have them ready for the students to collect.

"Initially, when you walk in at 9am there's a sense of butterflies in the stomach and it can be a very emotional day because for some it's such a release of tension that they've actually gotten what they want, the initial thing is about how many points they have.

"That is absolutely huge now so that's why in advance of our students coming in to collect results, our staff members working behind the scenes, will calculate the points for them and the students aren't there trying to calculate points on their phones."

Having served as Principal of Bruce College in Cork, the former Presentation College and NUI, Galway student returned to Galway and set-up Park College in 1990 as the first private college in the West. Eighteen years on and, despite seeing 100 students go through the doors of the college every year, Patricia clearly feels a sense of care and responsibility for one and all.

"Our relationship with the students doesn't end on results day, we're still available to them. Our careers facility is available to them because the offers come out on the following Monday and they may well still have queries."

Being a private college, the vast majority of students who attend Park College are direct referrals and additional family members - in some cases they have now worked with the fifth member of some families. There are often high expectations of students who attend Park College and Patricia and her team ensure no stone is left unturned in the pursuit of the wanted grades.

"When we start to work with students initially, we begin at the beginning, we don't assume anything and we set targets from the very start. Say if for example, there were areas in a particular subject that in their first Leaving Cert year didn't quite click for them, we would ensure that in the repeat year, they grasp the concept really, really well.

The Park College formula consists of ensuring that students are taught by excellent teachers, that they learn how to learn, and that their performances are measured throughout their time at the college.

"We train them for what they're going to have to do in June and that's actually sitting down under exam conditions, selecting questions and then writing an answer," says Patricia.

Today will be a very busy day for Patricia Maloney, for the students of Park College, and indeed for thousands of others around the country.

As Patricia herself admits, today is all about the students, it's their day. But spare a thought for the principals, teachers, families, and of course the students awaiting results today.

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