Mixed feelings as Junior Cert students tackle maths and Irish

THERE were mixed feelings among the students of St Patrick’s College on Gardiner’s Hill in Cork about the first Junior Certificate maths paper yesterday morning.

Triona Walsh had bigger things on her mind as she was not looking forward to the afternoon Irish paper, but she was positive about her performance in higher level maths.

“The paper was grand, although there were hard parts in most of the questions,” she said.

With Irish out of the way, she is looking forward to finishing off the Junior Certificate with her favourite subject - science - next Thursday.

Michelle Gillick, another higher level student, felt Paper I was long and she thought the graph question was hard.

She was happy with the English papers on the first day, however, and is glad to have just another week of studying left before her exams finish and she can put the school books away for the summer.

Classmate Tracey O’Rourke was pleased with the higher level maths paper and managed to get it finished within the allotted time.

However, she is not looking forward to science, and believes Irish will be her best subject.

Another St Patrick’s College student, Carol Walsh, said the ordinary level Junior Certificate maths Paper I was not too bad.

She was looking forward to the afternoon’s Irish exam but has to wait until June 23 before she finishes with classical studies.

Her friend Elaine Curtin said the ordinary level Paper I was quite fair but she likes maths anyway.

She was also pleased to have got the Junior Certificate off to a good start with Wednesday’s two English papers.