Leaving Cert English higher level: Teachers and students have responded positively to the Leaving Cert higher level paper which was widely seen as more modern and outward-looking than in previous years.

Paper I gave students plenty of scope to write about what is seen as one of their favourite themes - the modern obsession with celebrity.

In one essay question, students were invited to write a speech designed to support the view that celebrity culture has gone too far.

The celebrity theme was also evident in one of the comprehension questions. Students were asked to assess a Hello! magazine style piece on a fictional celebrity named Jerry Philips. She had apparently moved far from the terrace house of her childhood in a small Irish town to a glitzy lifestyle of designer labels and luxurious homes.

Students were also asked to give their own "take" on recent history and another essay asked them whether things might be better for the next generation.

In the comprehension section, students were also asked about the life of war photographer Jenny Matthews. They were asked to discuss the impact of various war images which were printed on the exam paper.

In all, higher-level English students spent six hours and 40 minutes in the exam hall yesterday. Teachers estimate that many would have written in excess of 10,000 words - the equivalent of a mini-novel.

Last year, the English paper at this level, with its focus on Ireland, was criticised for being too insular. But yesterday, Philip Campion, a subject expert with Skoool.ie said the paper was cosmopolitan and very modern in tone.

He said the paper was ideal particularly for students who were media-literate and could assess material in a critical manner.

However, Mr Campion expressed some concern that one section in the comprehension section (an extract from a Margaret Forster text based on life in the north of England in 1890) was much more difficult than the other choices.

As usual, paper 2 was seen as more difficult although there was widespread relief that two poets widely tipped to "come up" - Emily Dickinson and Eavan Boland - surfaced on the paper.