Leaving Cert Irish paper one: ‘At first glance many would have felt disappointed’

Many students may feel disappointed after a “surprising” Leaving Cert higher level Irish paper which did not include key issues and topics many prepared for, according to some teachers.

Clare Grealy, Irish teacher at the Institute of Education, said many much-anticipated topics like homelessness, war and violence did not appear in the essay section.

“At first glance many would have felt disappointed to see those key issues absent,” she said. “There were opportunities to use this material, as there were ample chances to use material prepared for the orals, yet these were indirect.

“Thus, students needed to take a deep breath and calm themselves as they plan their approach, weighing their strengths against the nuances of the questions.”

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She said every question had accessible language, but each prompt contained a challenge that required students to address varied elements.

“These didn’t have to have equal space on the page but it was essential that both appear,” she said.

For example, she said the question on sport necessitated a discussion of pleasures and heartbreaks: the former being familiar territory for many, while the latter is a nuance that will differentiate the top achievers.

Similarly, the question on life in the countryside called for students to balance the contemporary with speculation about what rural life will be like in the future.

“The question of the quality of life of everyone would have allowed students to draw upon prepared material on the life of the teenager, but again requires them to contextualise this material,” she said.

“Vocabulary practised to discuss war and violence could be used in discussion of Ireland and international affairs, but again a student needed to take the moment early on to catch their breath and orientate themselves.”

Linda Dolan, an Irish teacher at Mercy College Sligo and Studyclix subject expert, agreed that the higher level paper may have presented a few difficulties for students today, especially regarding the cluastuiscint.

“The general consensus from students was that the language in the listening comprehension was challenging and also the pace was very fast. More time between each section would have been beneficial,” she said.

“The hotly anticipated topic of “Eire agus Cúrsaí Idirnáisiúnta” (Ireland & International Affairs) appeared in the essay section, as predicted also by Danielle from The Gaeilge Coach on Instagram.

“It would have been well received as it was a broad title and students could use it as an opportunity to showcase the vocabulary they learned over the last two years.”

She added: “The title “Cumhacht na Meán Sóisialta” (The Power of Social Media), I suspect, was another crowd pleaser as students would have build up phrases and foclóir even from Junior Cycle on this topic. The topics of music and holidays appeared in the debate section – areas that are much more straightforward that those that came up last year.”

Overall, she said, this paper may have proved challenging for some students today.

Lorraine Finn, an Irish teacher at High Cross College, Tuam, Co Galway, offered a more upbeat assessment of the paper and said most students would be happy.

“The first part of the exam, An Chluastuiscint, was fine. The only difficulty would be with the questions in Cuid B (Section B) where the first conversation was about climate change. I think some of that vocabulary could be quite challenging, it would have been difficult for some of the weaker students [as] the questions were quite specific about the topic of climate change,” said Ms Finn, an ASTI subject representative.

In Cuid II (part 2), students are asked to write a 500-600 word composition which can be an essay, a newspaper article, a story or a debate/speech.

“The big question of course is the essay, which I would say that up to 80 per cent of students do,” she said. “The titles were quite general, and the students would have had an opportunity to write about different topics. The question about life in the countryside, how it is and how it will be, was a little bit unusual. Other than that, the essay titles were fine,” she said.

“I would expect that most students would be happy. There was one question about the power of social media, which is a topic they would have covered in class. There was another question which asked if everyone in society today has a good life, and that would be seen as a very generous topic, one which students could easily write about. There was another question about Ireland and international matters, again a topic that would be covered in class. There was also a question about sport, a topic that would always be covered.”

In the other sections, where students can compose a scéal (story) or a díospóireacht (debate) or óráid (speech), Ms Finn said they were as they would be expected.

“The students should not have had any difficulty with these topics,” she said. “The [topics] that came up were ‘It is better to holiday in Ireland than abroad’ and ‘The role of music in people’s lives. There was nothing this year on Gaeilge which was a bit of a surprise as there would normally be something on the language.”

Ms Grealy, meanwhile, said the debate and speech titles will have sparked deja vu in those who revised the both deferred paper from 2023 and the Leaving Cert of 2021 as the topics of holidays and music both reappeared, Grealy said.

However the speech on music would be a red herring for many as the change from “importance of music” to “role of music” was a subtle change that will put many off the topic.

“In the end, students had opportunities to apply their study and secure their grades but they will likely have a muted reaction to the paper,” she said. “The absent topics and need to weigh different elements will have meant students needed to adapt in the moment to a paper that would have surprised many.”

Students started their paper one with the aural exam with “clear, concise clips delivered at a manageable pace”.

“The answers needed to be short and to the point as students were often given only one line to fit their answers,” she said.

Overall, she said there was scope for students to impress the examiners once they didn’t panic and draw on their knowledge and skills.

“Don’t worry, it’s over. It wasn’t a bad paper at all – it gave great scope once you took a deep breath ... Tomorrow will be fine. The worst is over.”

Ordinary level

In the ordinary level paper, meanwhile, there was “nothing unusual” in what was a very general paper, according to Lorraine Finn.

“Students had to write a story, a letter, or an email, and there was nothing unusual in the options they were given. The letter was very general. Students were asked to write to a friend to tell them about a job they had last summer. Again, there was nothing unusual about it,” said Ms Finn

“Another piece was about ‘A musician I like’, ‘The life of a sixth-year student’ or ‘An event that happened in my area’ – so nothing unusual there at all.”

Similarly, Linda Dolan of Mercy College Sligo and Studyclix the paper was well received and student friendly.

“Students would have been content with the topics that were offered as they gave plenty of scope and an opportunity to manipulate paragraphs or phrases that they had banked over the years, even as far back as from Junior Cycle,” she said.

“The titles for the Scéal were also very doable and left open for interpretation. Without a doubt, there was something for everyone today on the ordinary level paper.”

* The article was amended on Tuesday, June 11th, to correct a misattributed quotation

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