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THE FIRST PAPER of this year’s Leaving Cert is done, and overall students seem quite happy.
So as students stream out of schools and discuss how the exam went – what did teachers make of English Paper One, which contains questions on essays, reading comprehensions, and functional writing.
So how did it go?
“Leaving Cert students seemed quite happy with both the Ordinary Level and Higher Level papers,” says Kate Barry of the Irish National Organisation for Teachers of English.
“The general reaction seems to be ‘Not too hard, not too easy’ because they like something that will challenge them.”
“In Higher Level, the texts were lovely, especially the first text. The second was a bit harder, and the third one was very nice.”
Celine Gallagher, Higher Level Leaving Cert English Student at Jesus and Mary Secondary School, Enniscrone said the texts were easy to discuss and relevant.
“I found it easy to talk about, given that we’re living through it and we’re always talking about. Text 3 on childhood memories, made it easy to take a personal approach and include funny anecdotes.”
The ‘Question b’s were “what we’d expect” Barry said. One of those questions asked for students’ opinions on relying on the internet for news updates, which was “topical and positive for those that read up on current affairs”.
Question b about poetry was “different and new”, and gave students a “nice opportunity to write about poems that they wouldn’t use tomorrow”.
The essay questions were “very very nice”, according to Barry.
“They were well-pitched, not too juvenile, as sometimes they can be a bit too teenager-y, but there were questions about advertising, democracy, and on how scientists and writers contribute to society.”
There was one ‘silly’ question though: imagine it was the Stone Age and you’ve just invented the wheel.
Barry pauses after reading it out.
You might be able to write a humourous piece… but hopefully not too many people chose that question.
Leaving Cert Ordinary
Lorraine Tuffy, Studyclix Expert Teacher and English Teacher at Jesus and Mary Secondary School, Enniscrone said that a well-prepared student would have been happy to see the first question.
“The article for inclusion in a school magazine offering advice to Leaving Certificate students on how to develop study skills, maintain a healthy lifestyle and balance in the build up to exams will be welcomed by many Ordinary Level candidates who are well equipped to answer this question.
A question on Text 3 proposes that all teachers in Irish schools will be replaced by robots. Candidates were asked to write letters to the Editor of a newspaper giving reasons why they do or do not support the proposal.
“This question undoubtedly invited some humorous considerations on the student’s part. I’d be interested to read what some of my students wrote for that one.”
Kate Barry agrees.
“The text was really good – it was about school and schooling, which was really nice and positive. Often kids read negative things in the media, so this was something positive, without being gushy.”
First year of Junior Cert changes
The significance of the first year of controversial changes to the Junior Cert exam, obviously wasn’t lost on the State Examinations Commission who chose ‘mystery’ as the theme of the paper.
The Higher Level paper has been cut down from two papers to one, and Barry says that the issue with that are evident straight away.
“An exam paper is a bit like a political poll – you want an evenly spread random sample from the course. But parts of the course didn’t appear on the paper – there was no fiction question.”
Barry says that she’s aware that one paper would save costs for the State, but said that teachers would have reservations that the breast of the course wasn’t being assessed.
But they were aware that this was the first time students would have been doing the exam, so there were no nasty surprises and students are mostly happy.
So was it a good start to the first day of exams?
“Oh yes, very much so,” Barry says. “The Leaving Cert is a nice examination in that the format is the same every year, but the content changes a lot.”
But tomorrow is the day for the big Leaving Cert paper, English Paper Two, which contains questions on novels, plays… and poets.
“Well they’re worth the same in terms of marks,” Barry stresses. “The second one, if they’re well-prepared and done the work on five poets, then they’ve nothing to worry about.”
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Caption under picture should read ‘their’ not ‘there’. Looks like someone in the journal needs to resit exam…
@Elaine Walsh O’Regan: bwahahahah – it could only happen to the journal, in an article about an English exam.
@Elaine Walsh O’Regan: They should of known better!
@Rui Firmino: Should “have” known better.
@Rui Firmino: I really hope that was you trying to be funny!
@Ciara Baines: ‘the breast of the course’ lol.
@Rui Firmino: “should have known better”. You put – “should of “‘ – of is also incorrect
@Ciara Baines: or American street English: They shoulda known.
My daughter, just in from first day of Junior Cert exams, tells me a kid in her school almost fainted because she’s observing Ramadan. I think it’s important for any kid doing a state exam to eat properly. I cannot imagine having to study and sit two exams a day on an empty stomach. It just does not seem right. I’m sorry if this offends anyone. I would love to know how students who observe Ramadan cope with the hunger.
@Angela: I can’t imagine somebody not eating meat on Ash wednesday, yet lots of very odd people do it. ;)
If somebody doesn’t want to eat during daylight hours thats their business, they can always pick and choose the stuff they believe in like most bouncy castle catholics do. We can call them bouncy castle Muslims :)
@Barry Somers: Sure, good man Barry. Nice bit of warped logic there. Like not eating meat for one day is comparable to expecting a kid sitting exams to not eat from sunrise to sunset.
@Barry Somers: If someone wants be a Christian, then that’s their business, no need to be calling them odd. No need to judge others just cause their beliefs differ from your own
@Angela: What’s your solution? Move the leaving cert to accommodate?
Why is the Irish media fascinated with the Leaving Cert?.
@Padraig: Probably because most of us have sat these exams.
Just pray for Eavann Boland to turn up on the paper tomorrow.
See what I don’t get… isnt the LC sort of on a bell curve? So when people say a paper was “lovely” or whatever, is that really a good thing? There are degrees of loveliness and being at the lower end of it will get you a C
Well both of mine JC and LC loved their papers. Fingers crossed for the rest of it.
@Barbara Edwards: Jaycee and Elsie are lovely names for kids.
@Paul Culligan: lol
@Barbara Edwards: funni guy
@Barbara Edwards: Lol. Seriously though Barbara, best of luck to them, and may their remaining Papers be equally enjoyable. #notabothertothem
Ah here the journal that’s bad
Not enough time in two hours for the new Jr Cert English exam. This has been complained about since the pre’s. My daughter studied her backside off and didn’t have time to complete the paper. She was happy with what she did do but now going to lose marks.
@Kay Murphy: tell her not to worry as the junior cert doesn’t mean anything. All it does is make our kids stress out way too early in life and turn education into a chore.
Yeats or Kavanagh. The eternal question.
@Martin Flood: Yeats
@Martin Flood: Kavanagh.
Cogging. Only the strong survive
Once you get through the mammoth English paper one and two, you are over the worst of it.
@Peter Cavey: HL Maths wants a word.
Girl in photo with headphones. I’m sure she did not have them on during exam.
have your say