Topical air to economics and construction studies papers

LEAVING Certificate students of economics and construction studies were examined yesterday and the higher level papers for both were strongly topical.

Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland (ASTI) economics spokesperson Michael Finnegan said all but one question appeared to have some tie to the current Irish and global situation, something which would please most students.

The topics raised included, for example, falling business costs, public sector employment, and an oligopoly question which was set in the context of competition in the Irish mobile phone operators’ market. It also offered a chance to discuss the so-called light-touch regulation that applied to Irish banks, a welcome use of modern economic terminology, Mr Finnegan said.

He thought the ordinary level exam had less of a topical air to it but nonetheless covered issues such as the government’s budget deficit, minimum wages and the Census which took place just two months ago.

Noel Scott, ASTI’s construction studies representative, said questions on the higher level exam were relevant and topical. Some of the areas of key emphasis were thermal performance of an existing home, low environmental impact of a new design, solar collectors and plumbing, and designing a mechanical heat recovery system for a passive house.

He also thought students would have liked a question asking about creating a good neighbourhood to live, work and socialise in. He added that, while there were strong elements of modern systems, there was a good blend with more traditional aspects of building.

While the ordinary level exam was fair and balanced, comprehensively covering the curriculum, it dealt with many more traditional topics like windows, improving insulation in a house, kitchen design and fitting, and stairs. There was also a traditional question about safety on construction sites, marking it out as a safe paper overall.

Yesterday morning’s Junior Certificate written tests were fair for both higher and ordinary level, in the view of ASTI subject spokesperson Margaret Curran. She said there were no major problems at higher level, with just a slightly unusual question on Granuaile asking about the piece’s historical background. In the Irish music section, she felt the last part of a question asking for details about the performance of a song or dance that they had seen was a bit more precise than might be expected, but these were the only issues she raised in an otherwise fine exam.

The ordinary level paper was likewise fine, but Ms Curran thought the phrasing of a question about what was heard before the melody might have caused confusion, as it might have asked more specifically about what preceded the voice singing the melody.

Technology was the afternoon Junior Certificate exam and ASTI subject spokesperson Seamus Walshe said students were pleased with the higher level exam, in which current technologies such as GPS were featured. He did feel, however, that a question about dip switches may have required a bit more work than normal for the opening section of short questions.

Mr Walshe said the ordinary level exam was challenging although not along unexpected lines, but one question in section B about laser cutters was unlikely to have been attempted by most students as the majority of schools would not have the luxury of such equipment.