Minister for Education Mary Hanafin is expected to step up the pressure for reform of the Leaving Cert timetable in the coming months.

The Minister wants to see the first papers in both Irish and English taken in advance of the main exam, possibly in May.

Ms Hanafin says there is no reason why these papers, which feature "unseen" texts, should not be taken in advance of the June exams.

Yesterday higher-level students spent over six hours in the exam hall taking English Paper 1 (two hours and 50 minutes) and Paper 2 (three hours and 20 minutes).

This huge workload will continue today where higher level students face exams - where they sit maths for two-and-a-half hours in the morning before switching to a marathon Irish test in the afternoon.

Higher-level students will begin at 1.30pm. After a short break, students begin an aural exam which ends 40 minutes later at 5.10pm.

In a discussion document, the State Exams Commission says moving Paper 1 in English and Irish to May would be a constructive step.

If agreement can be reached with the teaching unions and others, it is expected that the first English and Irish papers will be scheduled for a Saturday in May 2007.

The exams body says such a change "would allow greater flexibility in the construction of the exam timetable".

Both exams, they say, would be easy to supervise.