Students greeted yesterday’s Leaving Cert home economics paper with some dismay as teachers expressed renewed concern about the highly challenging nature of the exam.

Maura McCaul, ASTI subject representative, said that students regard the allocated time for home economics as inadequate.

It was reduced by 15 minutes to 2½ hours in 2004, without a corresponding reduction in questions. The numbers sitting the exam have fallen in the past decade, said teachers.

Food pyramid
Ms McCaul said that although the paper was challenging in parts, it was fair and well set from a teacher's perspective. She questioned why the higher level paper included a question on the food pyramid based on a 2007 report when the pyramid has since been updated.

Another question, which asked students to discuss primary education in detail, was highly specialised given the broad syllabus, she said.

The course syllabus is very broad and detailed, and students are glad to get it out of the way and move on to other exams, according to Kate Hehir, who is TUI subject representative and a teacher in St Michael’s Community College, Co Clare.

The paper tackled a very broad range of topics, including proteins, fats, vitamins, food contamination, freezing, microbiology, consumer rights, fabric detergents and budgeting.

School graduation
One question required students to plan a school graduation event and to evaluate that plan. This question required students to think independently and outside the box, said Ms Hehir.

The ordinary level paper was better received, with teachers praising the phrasing and the design.

“It was very good, and straightforward, and should have been manageable for most,” said Ms Hehir.

One question asked students to focus on reducing their food bill when buying proteins, looking at cheaper cuts of meat and vegetarian sources of protein.