Leaving Cert music/religious education:"A good test of skills" was the verdict on yesterday's music papers at higher and ordinary level.

Students and teachers were "very positive" afterwards, according to ASTI subject representative Mary McFadden, who teaches in the Loreto secondary school, Balbriggan, Co Dublin.

The listening paper came first and should have presented no problems to well-prepared students, according to Ms McFadden.

Questions about four set pieces of music from artists as diverse as Tchaikovsky and Queen were "straightforward and manageable".

Almost 5,000 students sat the music exam yesterday. The majority of those had already completed 50 per cent of their music examination by means of a performing elective, which was examined just after Easter.

The allowance of five minutes at the start of the exam for students to read through the questions was a "welcome touch", according to Ms McFadden

An Irish music question dealt with a broad range of topics and the listening paper was rounded off with questions about two different versions of Your Song by Elton John.

The higher-level composing section of the exam, while still described as "challenging", was met with a sigh of relief by students, as they were given the option to compose work in a major key.

"The melody questions one and three did have the challenge of handling the upbeat in triple time," Ms McFadden said.

There were no surprises at ordinary level and the papers were "along the lines expected", she added.

Elsewhere, 600 students sat the religious education exam, which was described as "very recognisable and very fair" by David Martin, ASTI subject representative and a teacher at Mount Temple comprehensive school in Dublin.

Neither higher nor ordinary papers held any shocks for students and Mr Martin praised the wide range of questions.