Spanish tough but fair with no unpleasant surprises

SPANISH was the morning exam faced by Junior and Leaving Certificate students yesterday.

ASTI spokesperson Máire Ní Chiarba said the higher level Leaving Certificate paper was quite challenging, but it was a good and fair test of students’ knowledge.

It featured an interesting reading comprehension passage about a survey which found Ireland to be the best place to live

Ms Ní Chiarba said the ordinary level paper was very suitable, and included comprehension passages about penguins endangered by an iceberg.

The Junior Certificate higher level Spanish paper should have rewarded those students who had worked hard in preparation as everything was syllabus based, Ms Ní Chiarba said.

She said the ordinary level paper featured a piece of interest to young people about the wrist bands popularised by cyclist Lance Armstrong.

Junior Cert metalwork students who faced written papers yesterday afternoon already had 75% of the marks covered between project work already submitted.

The TUI’s Eamon McAleer was very pleased with the higher level paper and felt questions on the two-stroke engine they made for their project were fair and predictable.

ASTI spokesperson Phelim O’Doherty said the higher level paper was well laid out, easily-read and featured the usual high standard of sketches and drawings.

After yesterday afternoon’s chemistry papers, the TUI’s Ted Forde said higher level students found no major difficulties in the paper and had time for questions.

At ordinary level, students were pleased with the visual aids and questions asking them to name pieces of apparatus in diagrams. Mr Forde said the short question sections were also acceptable and a nice question on water also featured.