For once, the hours spent mooning over teen idol Justin Bieber weren’t a waste of time. Being a true Belieber paid off academically as the singer played a starring role in the Junior Cert higher level Irish Paper 1 this morning.
Overall, the exam was well received by students who were discussing the papers on social networks throughout the day. The higher level exam featured comprehension pieces about the aforementioned superstar and about Raidió Rí Rá, a teen radio station that runs throughout Seachtain na Gaeilge.
“The pieces were topical but the questions were challenging,” said ASTI representative Robbie Cronin, a teacher in the Marian College, Ballsbridge.
He added that there should have been a glossary of terms for some of the more unusual words. “Féirín means present, for example, but the word most people would have for present is bronntanas,” he said.
Topical essay choices were good, according to Mr Cronin.
Unfortunately a minor error managed to slip past the exam proof readers. “There was a question in the grammar section which was already answered,” said Mr Cronin. “There was no gap for them to put in the answer. It wasn’t worth many marks but it shouldn’t really be happening.”
Mr Cronin said the listening comprehension section threw up a few issues. Some of the questions asked were, “tough, bordering on unfair and unexpected,” he said.
“Students were asked to write down the title of the Réamhfhaisnéis na hAimsire [weather forecast] announcement,” Mr Cronin said. “My students were surprised by this and couldn’t answer it.”
There was also a section about the young scientist of the year in which students were asked two questions, both of which had the same answer. “A lot of teenagers at this age would not write the same answer down for two different questions,” Mr Cronin said.
The new-look ordinary level paper was well received generally and threw up no major problems.