Leaving Cert geography: Teachers described yesterday's Leaving Certificate higher-level geography paper as fair but with few surprises.

This is the second-last year in which students will sit exams based on the current syllabus, and the paper reflected efforts to provide students with as relevant and up-to-date examples as possible.

It included questions on employment patterns during "Celtic Tiger" Ireland, a quote about world inequality from rock singer Bono, and on Dublin's Luas light-rail transit system.

It was widely regarded as topical and interesting to students of all abilities, although one teacher also described it as "predictable".

The vast majority of students sitting Leaving Certificate geography do so at higher level.

"Overall, there weren't any major surprises," said Mr James Staunton, ASTI subject representative. "You have to know your stuff to answer the paper, and most students will have been writing for the full three hours and twenty minutes of the exam."

While many students would have been very tired from yesterday's earlier maths paper two exam, few could complain about the paper overall, he said.

"I thought it was a very fair paper," said Mr Tom Hunt, TUI representative. "It gave an opportunity for any student who had prepared reasonably well to do well."

He said the use of examples, such as the Luas system, which were of interest in students' own lives, was particularly welcome. "There was plenty of variety," he added. This meant students who kept in touch with trends in society would find parts of the paper "very appropriate", he said.

Mr Jackie Brennan, skoool.ie contributor and a teacher at Rockbrook Park school in Rathfarnham, Dublin, also welcomed the use of topical material.

"I thought the exam was very fair, with a little bit of thinking required by students," he said. "There were very few surprises ... but there is no doubt it was challenging. They were not trying to give any surprises, but they did want to give the student who had done the work the opportunity to show that."

However, teachers last night expressed concerns about a lack of adequate training in the new geography and history syllabuses. Fifth-year students will be taught the new courses from this September, and they will be examined for the first time in 2006.

Mr Pat Cahill, ASTI president, said provision for introducing these new courses has been poor, with teachers receiving only one in-service training day this year. This would, he said, put at risk the successful delivery of the new syllabuses.

At ordinary level, teachers welcomed what one described as a "normal ordinary-level paper".

"Students at ordinary level wouldn't have any difficulty finding five questions to suit them. I wouldn't foresee them having many problems."

ASTI's Mr Staunton also praised what he described as a very "student-friendly" paper, which clearly explained the terms used.

However, Mr Brennan said that certain students might have had difficulties with some questions. But overall, the paper was "a good opportunity for students to display their knowledge".