61,736 students received their Leaving Cert results this year.
At 11am this morning, my camera was pointing at one of them.
Michael Cash from Drimnagh in Dublin was about to discover his results.
We waited while principal Pádhraic Gibbons checked the Candidate Self Service Portal on his computer.
His face broke out in a smile.
"Michael - you my friend, have got a distinction. The highest you can get in LCA. All your hard work paid off. Huge congratulations."
The pair shook hands and two of Mr Gibbons' colleagues clapped.
"I am very delighted. Thank God for that. A weight was on my shoulders and that's gone now," beamed Michael.
The 18-year-old was one of 3,730 students who had opted for the alternative Leaving Certificate Applied programme, a significant rise compared to numbers last year.
Like the established Leaving Certificate programme, the LCA is a two-year course, but it is more focused on developing practical life skills and students complete more of their formal assessment as they progress.
At Michael's school, 17 students did the LCA.
Three of them - Michael, Jack-Cullen Kavanagh and Mitchell Atasiem - were enrolled in the Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) Special Class, or 'The Pod', as the school calls it.
"The school is immensely proud of these three young men," explained Mr Gibbons.
"They were enrolled in our ASD Special Class as our very first students back in 2017. And they progressed all the way through to graduate today with a mixture of merits and distinctions.
"You can't underestimate what any of the Leaving Cert students went through. But for these young men in particular, given their level of needs and support required, it is an absolute achievement, beyond an achievement.
"The Leaving Certificate Established is about reading, writing, retention of information. But the LCA is a massively different skillset. It's a vocational programme for those kids who are more kinesthetic and able to work with their hands.
"But as far as we are concerned, both are Leaving Certificates, and both are designed so that students can progress wherever they wish to progress after school."
Michael wants to study psychology at college.
He has this advice for students considering the LCA.
"If students need to do the LCA, they should do it. If they are having problems reading or whatever, it's handy to learn by seeing and doing stuff, rather than reading it on paper. I really enjoyed it."
