LEAVING CERTIFICATE/Home Economics: The home economics papers - social and scientific - seriously tested students with a succession of long and intricate questions.

While the questions were drawn from the syllabus, students had to battle against the clock to get the papers finished and there was lots of writing involved, particularly after Irish paper 2 earlier in the morning.

The higher-level paper was highly challenging and students got virtually no easy qustions, said Marian Nugent from the Technical Institute in Ringsend, Dublin.

It was certainly a higher-level paper, said Elizabeth Hayes, ASTI subject representative from Coláiste Dún Iascaigh in Cahir, Co Tipperary. She said it was a "black and white paper" and there was no "room for waffle".

Nugent said the first question on vitamins failed to put students at their ease. Instead of identifying them by a letter, the paper used their chemical names. Nugent said this was not helpful for students trying to settle into the exam.

The final part of question 1 focused on folic acid and its importance in the diet. She said this was welcome as it had been in the press in recent months.

Hayes said the social questions were manageable, but would have been trying for students who had not done the work. In particular, a question which asked students to give a detailed account of the work of a juvenile liaison officer and the probation service was very "tricky".

Nugent said question 8 on the food freezer was a strange choice because most homes now used a fridge freezer. However, she said a question on home ownership and buying a house was very practical and was something students would remember for many years. To be fair, she said, the paper managed to "marry the practical with the theoretical".

Hayes said the ordinary-level paper was not easy either, with the social section quite difficult for lower-level students.

Question 6 had four different sections and some students would have found this off-putting, particularly students who did not write well or who were not widely read.

Nugent said question 8 was possibly not well phrased, referring to an "under-stairs bathroom", rather that what most mere mortals would call it - an under-stairs toilet.

Both teachers said it was unfair that home economics students had so little time to complete the paper, compared to the time allocated to other subjects.