New biology syllabus proves demanding

Leaving Cert biology: verdict: The new Leaving Certificate biology syllabus was examined for the first time this year, prompting strong reactions from students and teachers, who described yesterday's higher-level paper as difficult and demanding.

The format of the new exam saw the number of sections increasing from two to three, including a separate section based on students' knowledge of practical experiments.

"Students found the higher paper very difficult, with very detailed questions," said Ms Lily Cronin of the ASTI. "It was a very long and 'wordy' paper. I would have hoped that the new syllabus would have changed this ... There were not enough diagrams or examples of the apparatus which they might have used in experiments."

Because this was the first year of the new syllabus, students only had one set of sample papers to base their study upon. These were provided by the Department of Education and Science.

"I would think it was certainly more challenging than the sample papers," Ms Cronin said. "Because we're starting a new syllabus, it's a pity. If we're trying to entice students into science subjects, it was not the most welcoming of papers. There was room for more modern questions."

Mr Tim O'Meara, TUI subject representative, said the small numbers of diagrams in the paper could make it more difficult for borderline students to perform well.

But the paper, although demanding, contained no huge surprises, he said, and the clear phrasing of the questions may have made up for any lack of diagrams.

"Any well-prepared student should be able to deal with it," he said.

"It was relatively close to the sample papers, with no major difficulties."

Mr Joe Reville, a skoool.ie expert and teacher at Terenure College in Dublin, said he could have few quibbles about the content of the paper.

"A lot of the old reliables were there ... and quite a few of the questions from the Department sample papers made an appearance on today's exams," he said. "But I thought it would have been a bit more modern than it was. It was a little bit traditional, there could have been a few more diagrams."

Mr Reville described the ordinary level paper as a "dream", with a relatively small amount of new material.

"It was not really that taxing," he said. "There was an awful lot of Junior Cert biology on the Leaving Cert exam paper, so it was really only a step up from the Junior Cert. I thought it was very student-friendly, and students themselves were very, very happy."

"I thought the ordinary level paper was testing but fair," said Mr O'Meara.

"Some of the diagrams were a bit unclear, so perhaps they should pay a bit more attention to the diagrams. But I liked the straightforward manner of the questions asked."