Leaving Cert students sitting the art (history and appreciation of art) exam at Deansrath Community College, Dublin, yesterday, remained at their desks until the last possible moment.
This was a good sign, said Ms Natasha Evans, who teaches at the school. "Everyone was happy and no one said that they were unable to answer the questions," she told Exam Times. Students appreciated the illustrations accompanying the questions.
Ordinary-level students, in particular, tended to answer questions which were illustrated, Ms Evans observed. However, question 14 on the ordinary level paper caused consternation when, despite a statement to the contrary, it was discovered there was no accompanying illustration. Mr Aidan O'Sullivan, who teaches at Crescent College Comprehensive, Limerick, said the higher-level paper "was difficult enough. Although it's a broad generalised course, a significant number of questions were extremely specific."
Question 12 on Ingres, for example, required an in-depth answer, he said. The question on Harry Clarke also had too narrow a focus for a course which was based on one weekly class, he added. Mr Peadar McNamara, who teaches at Ennis Community College, Co Clare, noted that the paper contained "some very good questions". He was, however, critical of question 23, which required students to write about one of a list of Irish art galleries. Sadly, Limerick City Art Gallery was omitted from the list - the very gallery that the Ennis students had visited this year. Question 17 was "very nicely thought out", he said. "It dealt with areas that many art students would be hoping to go into at third level." Students were delighted with the question on Michelangelo, Ms Evans noted. "It's always a winner. They absolutely love studying the Renaissance."
Mr McNamara was enthusiastic about the ordinary-level paper. "Questions were good, very good to very imaginative," he commented.
However, he said, question 5 on Harry Clarke was a disappointment. "There isn't sufficient text in any of the current textbooks to support an answer," he asserted. Mr O'Sullivan was critical of a number of questions on the paper, which, he said, were too wordy and were likely to confuse students working at this level. Question 11, he observed, could be misinterpreted by students.
"I worry about how it will be marked," he said.