Leaving certificate students sat the first paper of their Irish exam today, and it has been described by experts as “fair, accessible and approachable”.
That was the description of the higher level paper while the ordinary level paper “could not have been nicer”.
Studyclix.ie Irish subject expert and teacher Emer McTernan, of Mercy College, Co Sligo, said: “Leaving Cert students would have warmly welcomed a very fair, accessible and approachable Irish paper 1 today. The all-important ceapadóireacht (composition) section offered candidates a broad range of topical, student-relevant titles including the advantages and disadvantages of technology, climate change, human rights and the Irish Language and Culture — a firm favourite each year among candidates.”
She said some students may have been surprised by the lack of a Covid title, which was expected, but this should not have represented a big obstacle with alternative titles such as 'Big problems of our time' and 'The life of a young Irish person today'.
On the ordinary paper, Ms McTernan said: “Leaving Cert Ordinary Level Paper 1 was a lovely, student friendly paper which provided great scope to draw on topics students had covered for their Oral exam such as ‘The area in which I live’, ‘A sporting event I enjoyed’ and ‘A holiday I spent in a seaside resort'.”
Students also sat their second maths paper today, which was described as fair but more difficult than paper one.