Leaving Cert students tackle 'student-friendly' Irish paper

Leaving certificate students after the Irish paper at Ballincollig Community School, Cork. Picture: Denis Minihane.

Both the biology and Irish exam papers offered plenty of choices as Leaving Cert exams continued on Tuesday, with teachers agreeing that the adjustments to this year's exams helped to take pressure off students. 

Overall, the higher-level biology paper was “very fair” and offered students “fantastic choice”. 

However, a couple of questions may have thrown them, according to Margaret McGagh, subject representative with the Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland (ASTI). Questions on genetics and ecology came up in both Section A, the ‘short questions’ worth 80 marks, and in Section C, the longer questions worth 180 marks.

Students tend to study genetics and ecology very well, and are usually very well prepared to answer them," she said.

Section B, which focuses on experiments, again offered students a “very good choice”. 

This year, students had to answer one out of three, compared to two out of three pre-Covid. However, Ms McGagh said she had “one quibble” with Section C.

Vika Fleming who completed her Irish paper as an external candidate at Ballincollig Community School. Picture: Denis Minihane

"Students at higher level would be expecting a question on photosynthesis or respiration," she said.

"They had both on this paper, but the photosynthesis question also included questions about cell division, which would be a very unusual combination. 

"I think having the mitosis question might have thrown them,” she said, adding that this group of students spent time learning online last year due to Covid. 

The human biology question that featured on the higher-level paper was also “quite nice”, but also included a “completely different topic”. 

“They got the excretory system," said Ms McGagh. 

"No tricks really, they either knew it or they didn’t, but they stuck at the bottom of it a question about water transport in plants. Again with this cohort, they might have ended up studying their human biology very well and left off the plant biology. That might have eliminated that question for them.”

Leaving Certificate students Sinéad Somers (left) and Shauntelle Lehane Buckley at Ballincollig Community School. Picture: Denis Minihane.

Studyclix subject expert biology teacher Gemma Gillespie said the ordinary level paper was "straightforward" for the most part, "though some students may have found the genetics question challenging as quite a lot of detail was required in the answer”.

Irish papers

Leaving Cert students sitting Irish paper two on Tuesday morning would not have been under pressure following a "student-friendly" exam, according to ASTI subject representative Anne Loughnane.

The paper presented to students was more straightforward than Monday's paper one, she added.

Irish paper two includes prose, poetry, literature, and reading comprehensions. 

Leaving Certificate students Nina Buckley (left) and Sinéad Buttimer after the Irish paper at Ballincollig Community School. Picture: Denis Minihane.

“Students would have been way more prepared for it," she said.

They had greater choice, so they wouldn't have been under pressure. There were no twists on the questions. 

"I think this paper would have been a much more positive experience for students.” 

Higher-level students were asked in the reading comprehension section about Irish language poet Máire Mhac an tSaoi, who passed away last October, and traditional music.

“I think that most students who had prepared reasonably well had a great opportunity to do very well on this paper,” said Ms Loughnane.

At ordinary level, there was a good deal of choice and plenty of opportunities for students to show their knowledge of the language, she added. 

“In particular, I thought the poetry questions were lovely," she said. 

It would have been a good positive note to end the Irish exam on. Any student who had prepared, I think would have been comfortable answering.” 

Claire Markey, Irish subject representative with the Teachers’ Union of Ireland (TUI), agreed with this view. 

"They were balanced and fair papers,” she said. 

The questions students were asked on the ordinary level reading comprehensions — based on music, and on the history of the Conrad na Gaeilge building on Harcourt St — were "fairly straightforward”. 

Kathleen Lowney, principal, with her cousin, Leaving Certificate student Brian Lowney, after the Irish paper at Ballincollig Community School. Picture: Denis Minihane.

Students had a choice this year, so they did not necessarily have to do poetry and prose. 

“The questions were the usual run-of-the-mill type of questions that usually come up,” she said.  

Junior Cert exams also continued on Tuesday, with students sitting applied technology and Italian on Tuesday morning, and French in the afternoon.

The State exams continue on Wednesday, with Leaving Cert French and history, and Junior Cert home economics and Spanish.