This year’s initial Leaving Cert exams were deemed as universally themed and user-friendly, according to educators. Included in the paper were specific navigation aids for the pupils in English paper one. As Wednesday came, a record number of students – amounting to 136,000 – prepared themselves for the start of both Leaving Cert and Junior Cycle exams.
Kate Barry, an educator from Loreto Secondary School in Cork, opined that this year, there was more guidance offered in the higher-level paper compared to previous years. The Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland (ASTI) representative stated that the comprehension questions in section A effectively outlined how marks were given for every question.
However, Clodagh Havel, another educator at the Institute of Education, noted that some of the prompts were surprisingly specific but allowed ample space for students to discuss their thoughts in detail. The general theme of the paper was ‘connections’, which Laura Daly, a fellow teacher at St Benildus College in Dublin, appreciated for its easy comprehensibility and the degree of satisfaction it received from students.
This year, students had the privilege of choosing from three comprehension texts, taking excerpts from a variety of sources. These consisted of the Booker Prize-nominated novel, The Bee Sting by Irish author Paul Murray, and an article by Financial Times journalist Monisha Rajesh, demonstrating the importance of travel in fostering connections.
Havel stated how the theme of the paper, ‘connections’, allowed students to draw from a wide range of experiences, making the paper more immersive and engaging. However, Daly was not impressed with certain questions in part B of the paper. Due to its lack of creativity and resemblance to traditional exam formats, it was deemed underwhelming. This included options like a dialogue, a proposal for the Tidy Towns committee, and a diary entry series.
The lack of inclusion of contemporary styles like blogs or podcasts might have made the content appear less modern, however, the omission of such innovative or overly strenuous tasks would possibly be viewed favourably by students. As for the essay questions, there was a challenging question asking for a dialogue creation, but Ms Barry assured there were other preferable choices.
The Leaving Cert higher level home economics paper conducted in the afternoon was considered balanced, however, there were sections that were quite tough. Sandra Cleary, an educator at the Institute of Education, opined that the paper was a realistic depiction of the subject. She also stated that students leaving the examination room will likely feel content knowing their hard work was accurately represented.
According to Linda Doran, a home economics tutor at Mercy College, Sligo, and a subject expert at Studyclix.ie, the paper was fair but had challenging bits. The paper focused much on food processing and technology, which was similar to the previous year.
Meanwhile, with a variety of subjects and skills examined in the Junior Cycle English exam paper, students were faced with a tough start. Many students found the pacing challenging, commented Ms Daly. However, she noted the absence of unseen poetry, which was probably a relief for most students.
Ms Barry noted that the paper was in line with past trends. She thought that students seemed content with the paper. However, she believed given the broad scope of the Junior Cert, it’s strenuous to delve into topics in great detail, suggesting focusing on a few areas for in-depth study instead.
For two consecutive years, students taking the examination have been provided with an option to answer questions either on the mandatory subject, Shakespeare or on the novel they’ve studied. In Paul Murray’s “The Bee Sting”, Cass, a character in the story, depicts individuals who gaze at her momentarily as though attempting to decipher a mystery. Please draft a personal composition where you contemplate on various elements of existence that you reckon to be confusing.