Students sitting yesterday's Junior Cert ordinary-level history paper had a right to be flummoxed. A glossy insert provided a new question to replace question 1(c) on the main exam paper. Do not answer question 1(c) relating to pictures C1 and C2 on the examination paper, the instructions said. Instead of answering questions on Rolls Royce workers during the second World War and Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill, students were required to write about The Holy Night, a painting by Corregio (14891534). Please enclose this page in your answerbook when finished, the instructions went on. Stress inducing or what?

Teachers didn't think so. According to Mr Dermot Lucey, TUI course representative and teacher at Ballincollig Community School, Cork, the new question was a good one. Students liked working off illustrations, he said.

The language of the ordinary-level paper was entirely suitable and the pictures were of excellent quality and would encourage students, commented Mr Willie Ruane, a teacher at St Muredach's College, Ballina, Co Mayo.

"Very fair," was his verdict on the higher level paper. "Students could have very little complaint," he told Exam Times. "The paper was broad-ranging and students of all levels of ability from Cs to high As should be very happy."

However, Mr Lucey noted that students who had studied selectively could have been caught. Some students, too, could have been put off by the poor reproduction of the picture of the Russian, American and British leaders during the second World War, he suggested.

Students at Ballincollig, though, had given the paper the thumbs up.

The 120 or so students at Templeogue College, Co Dublin who sat the higher-level history paper yesterday, were also happy with the paper, according to teacher Mr John O'Sullivan.