Leaving Certificate Spanish: Leaving Certificate students who sat the Spanish higher-level paper yesterday answered questions on a survey that declared Ireland to be the most popular place to live and comprehensions on child slaves, armed robberies and extortion.

A total of 2,411 students sat yesterday's written and aural Spanish papers, with 1,613 taking the higher-level exam.

Máire Ní Chiarba, an ASTI subject representative and teacher in Coláiste an Phiarsaigh, Glanmire, Co Cork, said she was pleased with the content of yesterday's Spanish papers.

However, one higher-level comprehension question on 21st-century child slaves proved to be "very demanding".

A further written section, in which students were required to discuss the effect a part-time job could have on one's studies and the responsibility of consumers, was also deemed challenging yet reasonable.

The letter-writing option, in which students were asked to relate how parents no longer understand teenage children, was deemed an appropriate topic that many students would have previously discussed in class, according to Ms Ní Chiarba.

Equally, the diary and note-writing section offered standard and predictable questions.

The ordinary-level paper was described as "very suitable" by Ms Ní Chiarba. All comprehensions, with the exception of one based on a story about penguins, stuck to routine topics.