Students at Cashel Community School, Co Tipperary, who sat yesterday's ordinary-level Junior Cert science exam were over the moon about the new-look paper. For the first time, students were required to write their answers directly on the question paper. "We have been requesting this for years," commented Mr Mattie Finnerty, the ASTI's subject convenor, who teaches at the school.
The fact that the answers were now written in alongside the questions made the exam more student-friendly, he said. Mr Finnerty praised the paper's layout, its use of simple language and the structure of the questions. Mr Ray McGough, who teaches at Magh Ene College, Bundoran, Co Donegal, also praised the new format. "Full marks for the design of the paper," he said. However, questions 5 and 7 were difficult for students at that level, he noted. At higher level, the papers' format remained unchanged and, Mr Finnerty noted, questions were similar to those posed in previous years.
The short questions on section A were searching, he said, and students needed a good knowledge of the whole course. The clarity of the diagrams and illustrations was disappointing. The diagram in question 1(d) was particularly confusing for students, Mr McGough said. He also said that question 2(i), on oxidation reduction reactions, was very difficult for Junior Cert students and was likely to deter them from taking science at Leaving Cert.