The 12,623 Junior Certificate students who opted for technical graphics this year were rewarded with an exam "very relevant to everyday life".

Students were asked a variety of questions on familiar objects such as a vacuum cleaner, road sign, bread bin and dog kennel on both the ordinary and higher-level papers.

This received a warm welcome from teachers. "Students can now visualise what they're dealing with," said ASTI subject expert John O'Sullivan.

In the past, technical graphics has been criticised for being too abstract.

"An effort has been made to highlight the applied nature of technical graphics," said Mr O'Sullivan.

"Examining in this manner makes it much more interesting and relevant to students."

Micheál Martin of the Teachers Union of Ireland, who teaches at Largy College, Clones, Co Monaghan, said he was "very happy" with both papers, which were "very balanced and credible".

He added that question six on the higher-level paper could have caught some students out while question two on the ordinary paper may have proved tricky for students with poor reading ability.

Overall, Mr Martin applauded the "day-to-day friendly nature" of the exam.

Technical graphics is a useful subject for prospective students of engineering or architecture, but female students are still in a minority of 12 per cent.

"This discrepancy exists because technical graphics is more readily available in all-boys schools and because students are still choosing traditional stereotypical subjects," Mr O'Sullivan explained.