Over 3,200 students in Clare will commence State exams today.

English will be the first exam today for the 1,731 Clare students doing their Junior Cert, with Religious Education to follow this afternoon.

A total of 1,412 students here will begin the Leaving Cert with English paper 1 while the exam timetable for Clare's 103 Leaving Cert Applied students also gets underway today.

Guidance Counsellor at St Joseph's Secondary School in Tulla, Olivia O'Connor, says students should "trust in their preparation" while acknowledging exams don't define them.