A greater percentage of honours was awarded in most subjects at Leaving Cert level than at Junior Cert level, according to figures provided by the State Examinations Commission.
With the exception of subjects such as arts, business and science, higher-level students at Leaving Cert level obtained a higher percentage of honours than their Junior Cert counterparts.
In the music examination, which proved to be the second easiest subject at Leaving Cert this year with 96 per cent of students obtaining an honour, only 86 per cent of students were awarded an honour at Junior Cert.
Likewise, 85 per cent of students studying Irish received an honour at Leaving Cert compared to 80 per cent at Junior Cert.
The fact that 81 per cent of Junior Cert students obtained an honour in the newly-revised science syllabus will bring some solace to Government observers following the high failures rates and poor take-up at Leaving Cert.
However, high failure rates at ordinary level, best exemplified by the 14 per cent failure rate in French, 12 per cent in metalwork and 9 per cent in technical graphics, will now garner most concern. Such a high failure rate in a subject such as French, which is required for entry to some third-level courses, is particularly worrying.
For today's Junior Cert results recipients, who will sit the Leaving Cert in 2008 or 2009, subjects such as music, home economics, arts and business will look particularly attractive as a subject option because they offer the best chances of obtaining high points.
However, Junior Cert higher-level subjects such as history and French, which returned the lowest percentage of honours grades, may now suffer when students come to their Leaving Cert subject choices.