Leaving Cert geographyThe new syllabus of the Leaving Cert geography made its debut before 25,000 students yesterday, with students and teachers alike describing it as a challenging but fair first instalment.

Before yesterday's exam, students had completed a practical project based on aspects of their local environment with marks equal to 20 per cent of the total.

Following the exam, teachers complained of complex terminology such as "lithification" and the use of question headings which were not relevant to the answers students needed to provide.

Due to the unpredictability of the paper, students were required to have a detailed and comprehensive understanding of the entire course to avail of the wide options available, according to Dr Tom Hunt, a TUI representative.

However, the paper was praised for making the subject increasingly relevant to students, with the inclusion of environmental issues and topics such as globalisation, global warming and the role of multinational companies, according to Jack Keane, an ASTI subject representative.

"In the physical geography section, students had three expected options on volcanoes and the earth, erosion and rock cycles," Mr Keane said. "Most students would have liked the erosion topic as it was very doable."

Jackie Brennan, a skool.ie subject expert and teacher at Rockbrook Park secondary school in Rathfarnham, Dublin, said students had been concerned about the subject during exam preparations. A sample paper was not available until January but yesterday it proved a reliable template on which to base preparations.

Compared to the previous syllabus, which provided for predictable questions due to its longevity, the paper was always going to be unpredictable and somewhat daunting for students.

Michael Doran, a teacher in the Institute of Education, Dublin, said that while students would have been content with the physical geography section, the regional geography section posed difficulties. "Having said that, all of the worrying and nerves about what to expect proved to be unwarranted."

The ordinary-level paper was welcomed as a fair and accessible paper, which used similar topics to the higher level but set questions which were more simplified.