Achtung — surprise as exams catch World Cup fever

THE World Cup was the topic of a number of questions on German papers for Junior and Leaving Certificate candidates yesterday.

Neil O’Callaghan of the TUI said a letter question about the World Cup on the higher-level Junior Certificate paper was quite surprising, as a question about something so specific is not normal at this level.

He said anybody who gets an A at higher level will have done very well. The first reading comprehension passage had a lot of detail. There was a good chance for students to write about television or mobile phones but two of the trickier grammar topics — gender and case — came up.

In the letter, students were given a chance to discuss several topical issues, including the World Cup, while a section on the World Cup and its mascot featured in the aural test.

Mr O’Callaghan said the ordinary-level exam was particularly suitable for young people. It featured similar topics to past papers and a standard short letter about school, which should have posed no problems.

Turning to Junior Certificate home economics, the ASTI’s Deirdre Healy said section A of the higher-level paper was easy to cope with as the requirements in each question were very clear. In section B, some questions were topical for teenagers, such as vegetarianism and shopping. A lot of students would have avoided the heat transfer question but most of the others were on popular topics.

She said the ordinary-level paper offered plenty of choice and the exact information being sought was made very clear. She said there was nothing in the paper to cause students any great difficulty.

TUI spokeswoman Carmel McSweeney said short questions at higher level covered a broad range of topics, from additive types in convenience foods to the advantages of buying on credit. While it was good that students were asked to apply their knowledge in places, the questions themselves were tough, such as asking for two ways to protect the ozone layer. Overall, the paper covered issues relevant to young people’s lives.

Ms McSweeney said an ordinary-level question asking students to identify the main ingredient of a soup from its label was more suitable to higher level, but there was no difficulty with a question on designing a child’s bedroom.

The first question in the second ordinary-level Leaving Certificate technical drawing papers drew praise from the ASTI’s John O’Sullivan for highlighting the relationship between the subject and architecture.

Students were required to make a perspective drawing of a building which appears to be based on the award-winning design of the Glucksman gallery at University College Cork. Other useful aids were a sketch of a harp-shaped monument to musician O’Carolan.

Pat O’Dwyer of the TUI said the higher-level paper was very modern, and included a nice question with a roundabout. The only question students had a concern about was one on shadow projection, peculiarly because they might have been confused when it asked them to do less than what they would expect in such a question.

He also praised the fact that the paper could easily have been finished in time, which is not common.