Elvis and the reunited twins bring paper to life

A "delightful" paper greeted higher-level Spanish students yesterday with a range of "very accessible" comprehensions and a "well-paced" aural exam.

The paper explored the themes of twins reunited, recycling and Elvis Presley. The 644 students who sat yesterday's Spanish higher exam were reportedly intrigued by the true-life drama of identical twins Tamara Rabi and Adriana Scott, separated at birth and reunited when they accidentally met at university in the United States. "The students were very pleased with the paper," said Máire Ní Chiarba, subject expert with ASTI. "As with all higher-level papers today's exam was challenging, but students were very happy with the subject matter of the comprehensions and were able to get all the information they needed if they took their time," she said.

Yesterday's listening comprehension was also praised, after a series of very challenging aurals in previous years.

"The introduction of the CD is a very welcome development, but this year's listening exam was also better paced than in the past,when students had to deal with dialogue that was rushed," said Ms Ní Chiarba.

Students were engaged by the written comprehension section of the higher paper which looked at the cult of Elvis Presley along with the problem of homelessness in Spain. The written component, in which students were required to write a dialogue or note, was criticised for being too exacting, but this is a perennial complaint, according to Ms Ní Chiarba, a teacher at Coláiste An Phiarsigh, Glanmire, Co Cork.

"Every year this section is so prescriptive that it's basically a translation," she said. "This is not in the spirit of the new curriculum, which emphasises communication, rather than translation." Luckily students are offered a choice.

The take-up of Spanish in Irish schools is still low, but this year's numbers are up by 240 on last year, to 2,046. Most students sit the ordinary-level paper.

Yesterday's ordinary-level paper was also well received with light-hearted comprehensions on a royal honeymoon and an island castaway. The letter section demanded three tenses which may have posed problems for some ordinary-level students, one commentator speculated.