HISTORY: The history papers appeared relatively easy on the surface, but on closer inspection they contained hidden complexities and several tricky elements, teachers and students reported.
The higher-level Leaving Cert paper was generally straightforward with a generous range of questions. Section A, however, was too restrictive for some students with no Parnell question, although there was a question on Michael Davitt and on Isaac Butt.
Mr John O'Sullivan, ASTI teacher of Templeogue College in Dublin, said the Seán Lemass question in section B was welcomed by most students. The question on Cumann na nGaedheal was also manageable.
In section C there was a question on the Russian czars: this year's paper had a Russian tinge to it with Nikita Khrushchev making an appearance in section E. Mr O'Sullivan was surprised there was no Cold War question in section D, and many students were caught off guard when Charles de Gaulle appeared.
This section also contained one of the toughest questions, which dealt with the foreign policies of Hitler and Mussolini. Ms Venita Kenny, of Stratford College, Rathgar, Dublin, said the question required a good deal of analysis. She said students were surprised to see Stalin appear in section D because he came up last year.
Mr Donogh O'Brien, of Mullingar Community College, said the paper was very fair and the wording for the section E special topic gave students a chance to recount their experience of research. The ordinary level paper at Leaving Cert seemed to please most students, and Mr O'Brien described it as "very fair and straightforward".
The Junior Cert history paper was described as broadly fair and manageable by Ms Kate Bateman, a teacher at Stratford College in Dublin. She said the short questions were fine and most of the "people in history" section was "doable". She had reservations about question 4 (ii) which asked about a Renaissance painter or sculptor, but barred students from using one from Italy.
