LEAVING CERT APPLIED MATHS: HIGHER LEVEL:AN EXAM with, "Something for everyone," was the verdict on the Leaving Cert applied maths paper yesterday afternoon. Teachers praised the paper as well written and carefully structured.

"It allowed all students to access as many questions as possible and the authors of the paper should be commended for that," said ASTI's Christy Maginn, a teacher in St Declan's College, Cabra.

This is the second year in a row the paper was deemed do-able by students of all abilities according to Aidan Roantree of the Institute of Education who welcomed the trend. "It may encourage greater interest in studying the subject," he said.

Of the 10 questions on the paper, five, if not six were accessible to the vast majority of students according to Mr Maginn. Questions one and three on linear motion and projectiles were singled out as being particularly accessible. "Even if a student stumbled in a question they would have been able to negotiate the difficult part and carry on in many cases," Maginn said.

An unusual question eight (b) was the only, "Slightly unusual" question according to Roantree but as students have to choose six out of the 10 questions, it could have easily been avoided.

The vast majority of the 1,500 students sitting the paperwere studying the subject at higher level. Just 41 were expected to take the ordinary level paper.

"The paper kept the candidates working until the end," Mr Maginn said.