THE Greek exam was as demanding as ever yesterday, according to Mr Michael Telford, principal of John Scott us School in Dublin. "There is no letup on it at all," he said it reached the "traditional" level of difficulty.
Greek is a subject which has almost become extinct (only nine students did the Leaving Cert exam this year), "due, in part, to the very high expectations of the examiners", Mr Telford said.
The higher level paper opened with a chance for good candidates to demonstrate their abilities in the composition of Greek prose, he said.
The choice of passages for translation from Greek was more straightforward than the previous year. They were demanding selections from mainstream authors, including an excellent passage from Plato. A number of typographical errors, however, marred an otherwise entertaining paper.
The choice of vocabulary given in the paper was a little strange, Mr Telford said some common words were glossed, while other more difficult ones were not. As in previous years, the differentiation between the two levels was not great enough.
The set text questions were clear, simple, and gave all candidates a chance to excel, he said. In both levels the papers end with a historical and cultural section. This offered a good choice and was of a suitable standard.
Thursday was the day when the chanting of mensa, mensa, mensam finally paid off. The Latin exam that day was satisfactory and straightforward, according to Mr Joe Thullier, of Belvedere College, Dublin. Both higher and ordinary level papers were fair and there was great choice throughout in each question. Students were pleased - one might say that they came, they saw, they conquered. (Veniunt, vidiunt, veciunt.)
There was nothing to surprise students in the higher level paper, he said. There was a good range of vocabulary, so students who had studied could do well. The history questions were also fair and there was a good choice in each section.
However, Mr Thullier expressed disappointment about the quality of pictures. "The pictures were not that clear, but it would not have thrown the students."
The ordinary level paper was also straightforward, he said. Students had plenty of time to complete the paper, and it would suit any pass student, he said.
Hannibal, Virgil, Alexander the Great and Oedipus were among the cast of characters on Thursday's classical studies paper at higher level.
No great problems were encountered by Leaving Cert students sitting the exam at either level, according to Mr Michael Barry of St Patrick's Girls' Secondary School in Cork and ASTI subject representative. The higher level paper was, however, "exhausting and time consuming", he said.
Some students, depending on the topics they picked, could have had up to eight essays to write within three hours. "It was very heavy going," he said.
He said the questions covered a wide spectrum of topics, touching nearly every aspect of ancient Greece and Rome. He praised the quality of the illustrations on the paper, in particular the colour illustration. They were "really excellent" and "a great advantage", he said.
Students were "quite happy" with the ordinary level paper, especially topics 5 and 6. The paper was student friendly and better than last year, he said.
Mr Joe Thullier said the higher level exam was "straightforward" - his students were "very pleased". The phrasing of questions was very clear, unambiguous and "it didn't throw them".