A major disaster was narrowly averted in Limerick last Wednesday morning when it was discovered that three Leaving Cert students had been handed the afternoon's English paper by mistake. The mistake was discovered when the superintendent was about to hand out the fourth paper.

A spokesperson for the Department of Education and Science has confirmed that the papers were taken back immediately and the correct exam papers were distributed. As a precaution, the four students at CBS Sexton St, Limerick, were separated from their fellow pupils at lunch time and were interviewed by a Department inspector. "The papers were in the students' possession for only a few seconds and the Department is satisfied that nothing was gained by them," the spokesperson told The Irish Times. "The superintendent was replaced immediately - that's standard practice," he said. There was no question that students would have to re-sit the exam. "While the mistake was a serious one, the consequences were not."

The Department of Education goes to considerable length to ensure that such mistakes are avoided. Packets containing exam papers are colour coded - green for morning papers and orange for afternoon papers. Exam superintendents are warned to double check that they are opening the correct packets and to ensure that they can distinguish green from orange and are not colour blind. Superintendents are also required to check that the contents of the packets are the appropriate ones before they are distributed.

Last year, five superintendents opened the wrong question papers, but re-sits proved unnecessary.