The response to the Leaving Cert Spanish exams was cautiously positive, as students found the papers topical but testing.
Problems with the tapes in previous years meant the aural section was under close scrutiny, but teachers were very happy with this part of the exam.
"The tapes were of excellent quality this year and the questions were largely straightforward at both levels," said Ann Harrow, a teacher at St Michael's College in Ballsbridge, Dublin.
"The theme of young people who drank too much will have struck a chord with students and, in general, they should be happy with the tapes," said Sheila Crimmins, a teacher in St Aloysius School in Cork.
The students in St Michael's were very happy with the ordinary-level paper, Harrow said. "There was nothing particularly difficult in the reading sections, and they were well able to cope with the written tasks."
Crimmins said her ordinary-level students had "no great problems" with the paper, but she felt it did become quite testing in the latter sections.
Harrow liked the connections made between Spain and Ireland in the reading-comprehension section on the higher-level paper. She said it was "quite straightforward, particularly for the weaker student".
The paper required a high standard, "but nothing that would have fazed most students", she said.
Crimmins said the paper was not easy, but was fair. "It was a demanding, but well balanced."