Excellent blend of topical and old favourites
Leavin Cert Higher English
Laura Keays and Evin Cowley, from Limerick Crescent's Comprehensive School, share a joke after their first exam.
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THE danger of disregarding topics that have appeared in recent past papers was brought home on the Leaving Certificate Home Economics higher level paper.
In the management and design option, three questions that had appeared in 2004 and 2006 turned up, which would have disappointed any student who discounted them, said teacher Maura McCaul.
Overall, Ms McCaul, of Loreto College, St Stephen's Green, Dublin, and a representative of the Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland, said students should have been pleased with a "very topical and well-set" paper.
Sandra Cleary, of the the Institute of Education, Dublin, described the paper as "the best" since the new syllabus was introduced.
Confused
Ms McCaul said Section A was very straightforward, with the exception of one question, in which candidates may have been confused by what was meant by the phrase "by-products of fermentation".
In a question on the application of Quorn mince to a vegan diet, Ms McCaul wondered whether some candidates would have confused that with a lacto-vegetarian.
Candidates would have needed to have learned the answer to the Vitamin B12 question directly from the syllabus and students told her that "we either knew it or we didn't".
Ms McCaul said the question on small businesses and home enterprises in the Irish food industry was very topical and had allowed the students to demonstrate their research skills.
- Katherine Donnelly
