JUNIOR CERT MATHS PAPER 2:NO MAJOR problems were reported by teachers or students in paper 2.

Maria Kelly of the Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland was pleased with the ordinary exam. “The students were happy when they came out of the exam. They found the paper to be predictable – there were no surprises.”

She said that such predictability was crucial for students. “You don’t want them to be traumatised by anything.” Only one question might have caused problems, she added.

“The two right-angled triangles in question six part (iii). Better students were able to handle it, but weaker ones found two triangles in a diagram was a bit off-putting. But I’m really just looking for something to criticise.”

In the higher exam, John Brennan of the Ballinteer Institute was more circumspect, although generally satisfied with the paper.

“If you look at it, you can see they’re determined to bring the paper back to the 1960s and 1970s, which is all connected to the upcoming efforts to make maths more student-friendly.”

The wordiness of the paper flagged a potential concern. “There’s some complex English terminology on the paper and that can be a massive problem for those who don’t have it as a first language.” This may prove to be significant in the future, but overall he felt the paper was fair and that students would be happy enough.

As with previous years, part (c) of questions was used to filter out the A students from the Bs, he said. This year questions 4(c) and 5(c) were more tricky than most, and students will have been relieved to reach the more straightforward question 6.

Mr Brennan noted that geometry was becoming more popular and stressed the importance of looking at past papers; question 3(c) was previously set in the 1990s, so diligent students may have been relieved.