Future for Irish bright as more opt for higher paper

THE future for Irish looks bright after more Junior Certificate students took the higher level exam than the ordinary level paper for the first time this century, and got some of the best grades.

The grades in the first language are among the key features of results issuing to more than 55,500 students at over 700 schools today.

Efforts have been made in recent years to increase the language’s appeal and extra marks will be awarded for the oral exam in Leaving Certificate Irish from 2012, and for the optional oral exam for Junior Certificate students next year.