`Fair' paper confuses some

There were sighs of relief from teachers that this year's history and appreciation of art papers were much more manageable than in past years.

ASTI subject representative Mr Aidan O'Sullivan said there were smiling faces all round in Crescent College Comprehensive, Limerick. At higher level he said: "every question was do-able, clear, simple and to the point. There were no tricks."

Ms Jane Campbell, who teaches in St Joseph's, Navan, Co Meath, agreed. "It wasn't trying to impress with wordy, arty language. It was more honest." Her only quibble was with the illustrations which accompanied question 8, where three of Brian Bourke's works were included and none from the other Irish artists named.

Exam Times received a number of complaints about question 8. The language seems to have confused students, who were unclear if they should write about just one artist or one artist in addition to Brian Bourke. There was also a worry as to whether they should refer to illustrations.

At ordinary level, Mr O'Sullivan said the paper was manageable, with clear directions. However, students may have had some difficulties with section 3, where they may not have been prepared for topics such as soap operas and websites. Ms Campbell said the paper was perhaps overly topical. Questions 13 and 16 (part 2) on architecture were too difficult for this level, she said.