A lovely paper - that's how Richard Daly, principal of St Brigid's Post Primary School, Athy, Co Kildare, described yesterday morning's Leaving Certificate Applied (LCA) paper in engineering. "Students were delighted with it," he said. "Their only negative comment was that it involved plenty of writing." The questions were fair, he said. In a number of instances students were allowed to explain their answers by means of sketches. In section B, question 1, for example, students opted for one of eight different processes and were asked to list five steps used to carry out this process. Using pencils they could, if they so wished, make sketches of the five steps. Question 2, on materials and their uses, was very general, he noted. "Anyone who had covered the materials course could answer the 10 parts," he said. However, sections b and c were more technical and some students may have found them difficult.

Question 3 on systems and services modules was challenging and involved some theory but "students could definitely cope with it". Although the questions were straightforward, Mr Daly said it was untrue that the paper was easy. "It's a fair test of students' knowledge," he said. "The point of the exam is to provide a practical approach for people who may otherwise drop out. The questions are easy if the student has done the work and has a good knowledge of engineering workshops. The course is very useful for people going into apprencticeships and trades." Yesterday, LCA students also took exams in hair care and in office skills and retail distribution.