More than 120 thousand students will begin their state exams this morning.

Nearly 57 thousand Leaving Cert students face English Paper 1 this morning - while it's English and CSPE on the cards for the 62 thousand Junior Cert students.

It's the first exam under the new junior cycle English programme, where the paper accounts for 90 percent of the grade.

Education Minister Richard Bruton wished the students luck this morning, and had this advice:

Meanwhile, any student who feels overwhelmed by anxiety about their exams is being encouraged to call Childline.

The 24-hour phone line is available by phoning 1800 66 66 66, or by texting the word 'talk' to 50101.

Our reporter Sean Defoe has been asking people how they got through their exams.