While this exam did not deviate greatly from previous years, it was "unusually challenging". Question 1 gave student the option of answering section A or section B, but Padraic O Suilleabhain, Greek teacher at Gonzaga College, Dublin, said both sections were equally tough.

"Section A, the composition, was along traditional lines, but it was still quite difficult, and Section B, the comprehension, was also very testing."

In question 2, the translation of the unseen Xenophon was fine, O Suilleabain said, but the following Herodotus passage was "more difficult". Euripides and Homer were challenging, but the set text, the history, literature and architecture were "fair and balanced", he said.

"I think both the final papers, applied maths and Greek, had a sting in the tail."