ENGINEERING:A KNOWLEDGE of hybrid cars and the mechanism of fairground attractions would have served students of Leaving Cert engineering technology well in their exam yesterday afternoon.

With 50 per cent of their marks already under their belts, students had little to complain about as they emerged from their exam halls, according to teachers.

The exam was challenging, requiring a broad range of knowledge, according to David Monaghan chairman of the Engineering Technology Teachers’ Association of Ireland. But it was a very fair paper, he added. If a student had done their work there would have been no problem.

On the higher level paper, the compulsory short questions covered a broad range of topics but nothing that would come as a surprise. Teachers’ Union of Ireland representative Dan Keane said: “Any student who had worked through past papers would have been well prepared for what came up.”

The other compulsory section on the paper was the hybrid car. This was a topic that students had researched independently and while they would have had to have a wide-ranging knowledge of their subject, there were no nasty surprises, according to Mr Monaghan.The question on mechanisms linked into the students’ project experience earlier in the year where they were asked to design a fairground attraction using the carousel principle. The engineering technology project is worth 25 per cent of the exam marks and students also have a six-hour practical test in May which accounts for another 25 per cent.

Comments were similar at ordinary level. While the same depth of knowledge is not required, the breadth of information covered is similar to that at higher level. The paper was straightforward enough, said Mr Keane. Students should have been well able for it.

While more than 5,000 students sat the engineering technology paper yesterday, just 278 of those students were female. Teachers are keen to encourage more girls to take up the subject. Although it is not counted as a science subject for entrants into engineering degrees, there is a significant overlap between Leaving Cert engineering technology and engineering as it is taught at first year in university.