Leaving Certificate round-up:They had to wait until the bitter end, but yesterday more than 10,000 students finally finished the Leaving Cert. Coming out of the final exams, the overall mood was positive as the last papers proved to be challenging but reasonably standard affairs.

"Quite happy" was the verdict of engineering students coming out of the morning's exam. The higher-level paper accounted for 50 per cent of the overall marks, students having already completed a project and practical exam.

According to ASTI representative Kenneth Donagher, who teaches in Summerhill College, Sligo, students might have been shocked when an overly complicated quote may have confused what was essentially a straightforward first question in the compulsory section B.

However, he welcomed the topical nature of the section as it dealt with renewable energy and environmental issues. The rest of the paper was described as "fairly well balanced".

Students at ordinary level should have had no real problems although the paper was "not without its challenges". Agricultural science students would have found the higher level paper "challenging enough" according to Donal Power, a teacher in the Institute of Education. "You'd need a full knowledge of the whole course to do well."

Peter Keaney, a teacher in Wilson's Hospital School in Mullingar and ASTI subject representative, praised the way the paper challenged students "not just on their knowledge, but on their understanding of it". He criticised the questions in section one for being a bit "over-specific".

Ordinary-level students would have found the paper "fine", according to Mr Keaney, although he pointed out that some of the language used in the paper might throw some students. "It's an ongoing problem," he said.

The mathematically able were greeted with a "very, very doable" higher-level applied maths paper. James McManus, a teacher in Park College Galway noted that the paper was "not as tricky as last year".

Christy Maginn, ASTI representative and teacher in St Declan's College, Cabra, praised the paper for being accessible to the students sitting the exam. The more challenging parts "searched out the more able candidates".

Japanese and Italian were also examined yesterday. Students in the Holy Family secondary school, Newbridge, were happy to find that the Japanese paper was very much in line with what they had expected.

There was high praise for Italian exams that tested students on "the reality and practicality of the language as they would need to use it", said Robbie Cronin, a teacher in the Marian College, Ballsbridge, and ASTI subject representative.

The ordinary-level paper was not without its challenges, but the overall verdict was "great".