CHURCHILL said he would let boys learn Greek as a treat but there were few treats for higher level candidates in Greek yesterday.
"The first half of the paper was unreasonably difficult," said Mr John Walsh, a teacher in Belvedere College, Dublin. Question 1 was on a non-military theme and took students by surprise, he said, while the second half of the Thucydides extract in question 2 was "far too difficult".
The prose pieces were too long and the verse unseen were too complex for this level, said Mr Walsh. Questions 3 and 4 were fine and he said he had no complaints about them, but he remained unhappy with the first half of the paper.
Dr Michael Telford, principal of John Scottus School, Dublin, said the unseen translation had "some elements which were a little tricky". He said the prose composition was fair but did not test enough on the basic constructions. He described the history, art and architecture section as "very reasonable and straightforward, as it should be" and complimented the Department on the illustrations used.
"The syllabus still presents a considerable challenge and unfortunately, because it is perceived to be a very difficult subject, even fewer candidates are now choosing Greek for Leaving Cert," said Dr Telford, although he expressed the hope that future changes might go some way towards resolving this problem.
