Junior Cert students at St Jarlath's College, Tuam, Co Galway, and the Post Primary School, Maynooth, Co Kildare, have at least one thing in common - they all emerged from yesterday morning's maths exams happy and confident.

Their teachers - Mr John McKeon (Maynooth) and Mr Cammie Gallagher (St Jarlath's) - both noted that students sitting foundation, higher and ordinary level exams reported being pleased with their papers and some even declared they were delighted.

A nice, well-constructed paper which was hard to find fault with, was how Mr McKeon described the higher-level paper. "It was very, very fair and along predictable lines," added Mr Gallagher, who is chairman of the Irish Maths Teachers Association.

The ordinary level paper, he noted, was "very nice, with clear diagrams". The paper, too, had a practical focus, he said. "The questions were well developed and encouraged students to continue to work through more difficult parts which they had previously abandoned," Ms Maria Kelly, who teaches at Bishopstown Community School, Co Cork, commented.

The foundation paper, meanwhile, was well received, according to teachers.