Lech Muszyński/PAP

Tens of thousands of Polish high school seniors began their school-leaving exams on Thursday with a written Polish test.

The ‘matura’ exams are the culmination of years of schooling, and their results can have a significant influence over the lives of those taking them.

Poland’s presidential couple, and Mateusz Morawiecki, the prime minister, passed on their best wishes to those starting the exams.

“(We – PAP) wish all school leavers success and the best possible results. May your nerves be of steel, may your minds be open, may luck always stand on your side,” President Andrzej Duda and his wife, Agata Kornhauser-Duda, wrote on Twitter.

“This year’s final exams are beginning today. As each year, I wish success to all who are sitting the exam, and I’m keeping my fingers crossed. May you break your pens!,” tweeted Morawiecki.

Przemyslaw Czarnek, Poland’s education minister, said on Thursday that the exams started off without any problems, and that this year’s high-school graduates were well prepared for the exam and should do well.

The written part of the final exam will continue until May 23.