- Leaving Cert: maths paper 2 (9.30-12 midday), Irish paper one (2-4.20pm)
- Junior Cycle: science (9.30-11.30am), business studies (1.30-3.30pm)
- Classroom to College: our essential newsletter on the State exams
- Last-minute exam tips: experts on how best to approach key subjects
That’s a wrap
It’s been another milestone day for Leaving Cert students, in particular: taking on two of biggest exams, maths paper two and Irish paper one. Whether students came out smiling or just relieved to be finished, they can be proud of how far they have come. Students aren’t just surviving these exams, they’re growing through them.
Another testing day looms tomorrow – and we have some last-minute study tips for biology and Irish.
If you haven’t subscribed, why not sign up to our Classroom to College newsletter for parents, guardians and students, where we’ll be explaining the marking process, grade deflation and CAO / further education options.
Up tomorrow:
Leaving Cert: Irish paper 2 (9.30-12.35pm), biology (2-5pm)
Junior Cycle: Graphics, Italian (9.30-11.30am), French (1.30-3.30pm)
First look: Leaving Cert Irish paper one
You can now check out the higher and ordinary level exam papers for this afternoon’s Irish paper one below.
My colleague Peter McGuire has spoken to Irish teachers for their reaction. They are generally positive about a paper which gave students plenty of opportunity to express themselves across a variety of topical issues.
This is his report.
Higher level:
Ordinary level:
‘I was glad there were no particularly strange accents in the Irish listening comprehension’
Our Leaving Cert diarist, Heather McDermott, wasn’t the only one to prefer maths paper one to this morning’s tricky math paper two assignment.
There was, at least, some relief in the afternoon Irish paper one exam: “ I was happy enough, and glad there were no particularly strange accents in the listening comprehension.”
You can read her full diary here.
Junior Cycle business studies: Topical questions including ticket demand for Taylor Swift concerts
The Junior Cycle business studies paper was a nice mix of topical and relevant questions, according to Claire O’Brien, a business teacher at Coláiste Muire Réalt na Mara in Crosshaven, Co Cork, and Studyclix subject expert.
Mairead O’Sullivan, business studies at Glenstal Abbey in Co Limerick, agreed and said students found a good balance between calculation and theory style questions throughout.
“It was very topical incorporating references to the European Central Bank, inflation, Cadburys, Volkswagen, the sugar tax, technology in business, motor insurance, Taylor Swift ... Overall this was a very good paper which followed along the format and structure of previous years and students emerged smiling from the exam,” she said,
Ms O’Brien said the short questions had a nice mix from three sections: personal finance, enterprise and economics. Topics were relevant, from the demand for tickets for the Taylor Swift concert in Dublin to the target market for more plant-based bars,” she said.
The style of the short questions was mixed, Ms O’Brien said, including tick boxes, graphs and other visuals, while there were math questions on income statement (trading account), invoices and wages.
“The long questions, meanwhile, featured relevant topics like inflation, international trade, why multinational companies locate in Ireland, and why they might relocate away from Ireland,” she said.
Questions linked the banking topic to household budgets with taxation for a family, and then back to banking with interest rates and the European Central Bank.
“To do well, students needed to understand the connections between topics,” she said.
One surprise was a question on Ireland’s Deposit Return Scheme.
Students, she said, were asked to outline two disadvantages of the scheme but only one advantage.
“Question 17 was an analysed cash book, ledgers and a trial balance. Students may have been surprised to see this come up, as it was question 17 on last year’s paper,” Ms O’Brien said.
“However, this year they introduced the trial balance, which hadn’t been part of previous exam questions, but it would have been expected to make an appearance the next time an analysed cash book came up as a long question.”
Leaving Cert Irish paper one: ‘Most well-prepared students should have been happy with this paper’
Early indications from teachers are that Irish paper two at higher level was a fair and balanced paper with plenty of options for students.
Stephen Doyle, an Irish teacher at Moyle Park College in Dublin and a Studyclix subject expert said the higher level exam was a “solid paper that covered the key areas students expected”.
Nuala Uí Cheallaigh, Irish teacher at The Institute of Education, said students will be happy to find “something for everyone” on the paper.
“Settling into the aural, students were met familiar topics like school and TV – things they would have prepared for their oral. As result they will find themselves with a good grasp of the material discussed and capable of discerning the appropriate answers,” she said.
However, she said some might have been challenged by the appearance of the Deposit Return Scheme and potentially unfamiliar vocabulary.
“But those moments of pause are just part a tapestry of marks that students should find quite fair,” she said.
The composition section, Mr Doyle said, provided “excellent choices” that any well-prepared student could tackle confidently, while the essay options gave students a wide range of current and relevant topics.
These included people they admire, whether Ireland is a good place to live, environmental issues, and timely topics like world politics and current news stories.
“Students could also choose to write a story based on either ‘Dóchas’ (hope) or ‘Is ait an mac an saol’ (life is strange and wonderful). For those not satisfied with Section A options, Section C offered alternatives where students could write a debate or speech on either the life of young people today or the opportunities and challenges of artificial intelligence,” Mr Begley said.
“The exam was very topical and covered issues that students would be genuinely interested in, such as AI which was expected to appear, as well as global politics and whether Ireland is a good country to live in,” he said.
“Most well-prepared students would have found enough here to show their Irish skills and should have been happy with this paper. Overall, this was a fair and balanced paper with a wide variety of options that gave students good opportunities to succeed.”
Nuala Uí Cheallaigh agreed and said students can draw upon so many topics and areas of interest that they will really feel the benefit of their preparation work.
“Furthermore, the examiner will be able to assess them on their communication skills first and foremost rather than a fixed set of vocabulary,” she said.
“This paper gave everyone a chance to represent their level of Irish without additional twists or turns. The better students would have the chance to shine, while those who were anxious about topics will have somewhere to present their work.”
Ordinary level
Similarly, Mr Doyle said the ordinary level Irish paper one was “very accessible” for students.
The composition section offered “simple choices” including writing a blog on shopping, an interesting place or their favourite sports person.
“On the other hand, the vocabulary needed for Section C, the letter, would have challenged any sixth year ordinary level student,” he said.
“Section D, the conversation, allowed students to talk about a part-time job. However, the question was very specific. The story option would be welcomed by students as it allowed them to discuss music and a concert they attended. Overall, this was a manageable paper.”
Grade deflation: how will it affect students?
We’ll have reaction to Leaving Cert Irish paper two shortly.
In the meantime, we’ve had requests from readers to explain how grade deflation is likely to affect Leaving Cert results this year.
We’ve an explainer here on how the process is expected to impact on students as well as a podcast discussing it.
By our calculations, a student who secured 550 points last year could expect to get about 538 points for the same performance in 2025.
It is unfair?
Yes, undoubtedly – as the class of 2025 will be competing for college places against an estimated 10-15,000 students with bumper grades from recent years.
However, CAO entry points are likely to drop for many courses this year. And it is difficult to find better alternatives to restoring grades to a more normal pattern which are not fiendishly complicated or legally questionable.
Explainer:
Podcast:
Leaving Cert 2025: What does grade deflation mean for this year’s students? – The Irish Times
Beware the dreaded pink envelope
What happens when there’s a case of alleged cheating in a State exam?
We were looking through the general instructions given to exam superintendents to see how they are handled.
If a candidate is found to have a book / notes / electronic devices or is suspected of aiding another candidate, any relevant materials are confiscated immediately.
The instructions state:
“Where large candidate envelopes are used, you should write ‘PROVISIONAL’ on the candidate envelope beside the Centre No. box.
“You have been supplied with emergency labels in your stationery box and five special Pink envelopes have been sent to the school authority in the reasonable accommodation pack.
“Should a breach of regulations occur please request an envelope from the Examination Aide or the school authority and return addressed to the SEC. Any books, notes or external aids confiscated should be sealed inside the Pink envelope, together with the answerbook and a full report.”
The form, below, must be filled out by the exam superintendent.
How often are there cases of alleged cheating?
More than you might think. A total of 86 Leaving Cert results were withheld last year, up from 39 results the year before.
At Junior Cycle, meanwhile, 24 exam results were withheld, up from 10 in 2023.
Too easy? See for yourself ...
Many Junior Cycle exam subjects are sat at common level, so there’s no higher or ordinary level.
The idea is to provide a more equitable and accessible learning experience for all students.
But is it too easy for some students?
Liam Hennelly, a science teacher at Belvedere College SJ in Dublin and Studyclix subject expert, said the lack of challenge for more able students in this morning’s Junior Cycle science paper continues to be an issue.
Judge for yourself, with this question on page 16, or check out the full paper below.
-Question 12 from today’s Junior Cycle science exam at common level
-Junior Cycle science (common level) [full paper]
‘Students seeking H1s or H2s will have found the higher level maths paper particularly challenging’
My colleague Peter McGuire has spoken to a number of Leaving Cert maths teachers.
Many feel maths paper two at higher level was even more challenging than paper one.
There was relief among students sitting the ordinary level paper, meanwhile, which has been well received.
You can read his reaction piece here.
Leaving Cert maths paper two, higher level
Leaving Cert maths paper two, ordinary level:
Leaving Cert maths paper 2 – higher level: ‘Challenges grew as the paper progressed’
Students who were anxious about their performance on Friday and hoping to find an easier paper today will have found no comfort, according to Aidan Roantree, maths teacher at the Institute of Education.
While familiar topics helped students earn marks early on, the challenges grew as the paper progressed, he said.
“It continued the same mixture of the familiar and the quirky but on a larger scale with more of both. The question setter is consciously creating papers that are unlike previous years by adding novel questions that would have been hard to prepare for,” Mr Roantree said.
Students looking for H2/H1s will find the paper particularly challenging as the difficulty built upwards towards the end of the paper, he said.
“Upon opening the paper, students will have felt an initial confidence boost to get them going,” he said.
“Section A’s Q1, Q, 2, Q3 offered a reassuring and familiar start to the paper. This will have allowed students to accrue marks before venturing into the trickier sections.”
At Q4, the “quirkier” aspects of the paper emerged with questions that were evocative of pre-2015 statistics: interquartile ranges, averages, and later stratified sampling in Q10, Mr Roantree said.
“Section B followed a similar pattern with approachable opening questions followed by mounting difficulty. In particular Q9’s part C was a very challenging probability question which would have tested the abilities of even the highest achievers.”
He said the paper contained some of the hardest questions on either paper, so students will leave the exam with a sense of having really pushed themselves.
“This paper was a challenge for everyone, which will have to be reflected in the marking,” he said.
“There were lots of places where students handled familiar material, but the inclusion of the novel elements will make it much more difficult to get those final few marks.”
Maths paper 2 – ordinary level: ‘Students will have been relieved’
We’ll have reaction to the higher level maths paper two shortly.
In the meantime, Jean Kelly, maths teacher at The Institute of Education, says the ordinary level paper was a more positive experience for students than maths paper one last Friday.
“The paper was snappy, cutting right to the point and unified in the topics examined,” she said.
Question 1 was focused on statistics, Q2 on trigonometry, Q3 on the circle etc.
“This helped students stay focused on the task and feel like they are being helpfully scaffolded as the questions got harder,” she said.
“This feeling of momentum will help them get through the paper and feel much more assured in their performance.”
In general, Ms Kelly said the paper was heavy on statistics, probability and trigonometry with area and volume having a lesser presence than previous years – likely due to a surprising appearance on paper one.
“While there were enough challenging pieces on the paper to distinguish those striving for the O1, even those who struggle to pass will find themselves in a good position,” she said.
“The paper was often helpful, either through tips or by combining topics into a useful grouping.”
For example, she said the appearance of constructions in Section B was new, but the helpful pairing of dilations and area and volume helped ease students through the material.
“While paper one needed students to constantly, even anxiously reread the questions, there was a nice snappiness to this paper. Students who had the fundamentals were able to quickly get their marks without fuss and frustration,” she said.
Junior Cycle grading – how it will change
You might be aware that the grading system for Junior Cycle students is going to change this year.
It follows criticism from pupils and teachers that the existing scoring system was too harsh.
The changes will see more of the 73,000 students sitting the exams get higher grades such as distinctions and higher merits.
Under the changes, there will be the same number of grade bands as before, but the top four grades (distinction, higher merit, merit and achieved) will be evenly distributed in bands of 15 percentage points.
Current and new grade bands for Junior Cycle
| Distinction | ≥ 90 to 100 | ≥ 85 to 100 |
| Higher Merit | ≥ 75 and < 90 | ≥ 70 and < 85 |
| Merit | ≥ 55 and < 75 | ≥ 55 and < 70 |
| Achieved | ≥ 40 and < 55 | ≥ 40 and < 55 |
| Partially Achieved | ≥ 20 and < 40 | ≥ 20 and < 40 |
| Not Graded | ≥ 0 and < 20 | ≥ 0 and < 20 |
You can read a more detailed explanation here.
‘There was very genuine fear I could fail the maths exam’
We’ve been asking public figures, entertainers, politicians and broadcasters for their Leaving Cert memories.
Newstalk’s Andrea Gilligan is the latest to reflect on her exam experiences.
Like many, her career plans when she sat the exams look nothing like where she ended up – and she’ll all the happier for that.
Junior Cycle science: ‘Balanced, accessible, well-received’
The early reaction to the Junior Cycle science paper is broadly positive.
Liam Hennelly, a science teacher at Belvedere College SJ in Dublin and Studyclix subject expert said it was an “accessible and reasonably fair paper that would have been well received. There was a good balance of questions across the five strands.”
It was a common paper – no higher or ordinary level – and Mr Hennelly said the lack of choice in the paper and the lack of challenge for more able students continues to be an issue.
“The decision to change the grade bands from this year should see more students achieve the top Distinction grade (>85%+),” he said.
Mr Hennelly said the content of the questions in Section A was very fair and accessible.
“It would have allowed students to settle into the paper and to pick up a lot of marks. Four of 10 questions were chemistry questions. There were three questions on biology and two questions on physics with one question on Earth and space in this section,” he said.
Section B of the paper was more challenging, he sad.
“In a change from previous years, Section B contained just four questions, Q11 was worth 30 marks and Q12-14 were worth 60 marks each. A recurring theme was that topics from the different strands of the specifications were interwoven into the questions,” he said.
Question 11 was on electricity and the question was about circuits and mainly focused on resistance provided by a thermistor.
Question 12, he said, was an accessible question on rates of reaction from the chemical world strand with a really nice question on how reduced surface area of villi in the small intestine can lead to malnourishment.
“Question 13 was on the Earth & space and physics strands. Students had to be able to interpret data from a table provided, work out whether a diagram was showing a solar or lunar eclipse and discuss a technological application of physics in terms of scientific, societal and environmental impact.
“Question 14 was on mainly on photosynthesis and respiration from the biological world strand. In part (f), it asked a question on the day-night cycle on Earth and got students to think about how this would impact rates of photosynthesis and respiration.
And you thought the Leaving Cert was pressurised?
More than 13 million students in China are sitting the four-day gaokao exams, which began on Saturday and determine if and where students can secure a limited place at university.
The test is considered the most significant in the country, especially for those from lower-income families that lack resources. A poor performance may require another year in high school or completely change a teenager’s future.
Students – and their parents – pull out the stops for any edge they can get, including extensive private tuition.
My colleague Denis Staunton reported recently on how some parents seek out grinds from as early as preschool in order give their children the best chance of success.
Late last month, Chinese authorities also announced stricter entry checks at exam points, biometric identification, enhanced screening for digital devices, and radio signal blockers, state media reported, according to the Guardian.
Reflecting how seriously Chinese society views the gaokao, it says some cities have postponed disruptive events such as public performances, delayed office starting hours and created dedicated priority traffic lanes to ensure students arrive to the test on time.
At least we’re not quite at the stage with the Leaving ... yet
