Papers manage the right notes

Longer gaps between taped excerpts would have helped Junior Cert students at yesterday's music exam

Longer gaps between taped excerpts would have helped Junior Cert students at yesterday's music exam. However, according to Ms Veronica O'Sullivan, ASTI subject representative and a teacher at the Ursuline Convent, Waterford, the general reaction was good. "The lay-out was fine and very clear."

In relation to the tape, she said they did not have enough time between extracts. "This threw them and then there was a long gap at the end, which is not that useful."

It would be "most helpful," she said, if each bar in the score in question 2 was numbered and in bigger print.

A question on Irish music required "a breath and depth of knowledge" that would be difficult for children of that age to have acquired. Students found this question challenging.