RELIGIOUS EDUCATION: Only 76 students sat the new religious education exam, but one in every four got an A, reports John Downes
Some 76 students who opted to sit the new Leaving Certificate higher level religious education examination this year may have benefited from "divine inspiration" - with one in every four who did so obtaining an A.
One in three students taking the exam obtained a B, while 94 per cent managed an honour. At a time when the points race is increasingly competitive, this has prompted fears that the new subject - which included sections this year on world religions and moral decision-making - may be seen by future students as an "easy" subject in which to get high marks.
However, experts in the area pointed out that because this is the first year in which the syllabus has been examined, many of those who eventually sat the exam would have been strong candidates who were confident enough to serve as "pioneers" for a new syllabus.
As a result - and as the subject becomes more popular, leading to a greater range of students of all abilites opting to study it - this year's results may not be representative of future patterns.
They also underlined that most students taking this year's exam would have come through three years of the Junior Certificate syllabus, and would have been "highly experienced and highly coached" in the subject.
Interestingly, although 140 students were originally registered to sit this year's higher level paper, only 76 eventually sat the exam. This indicates that many students decided to drop the subject in the run-up to the exams, or on the day itself, and instead chose to focus on other subjects.
Only four of the 25 students originally registered to sit the exam eventually sat the ordinary level paper. Because this figure was so low, the State Examiations Commission is not releasing their results.
Despite this, the take-up of religious education at Leaving Certificate level is expected to increase significantly over the coming years.This follows a pattern seen in the Junior Certificate exam, which has led to an increase in the numbers taking the subject from 6,000 to 21,000 within three years.
According to David Martin, Asti subject representative for religious education, despite the support and assistance provided to students preparing for this year's exam, some students may have been put off sitting the paper because they were going into what was an "unknown" .
The initial "pioneering" stage of a new religious education syllabus would tend to attract confident students, meaning those who sat the exam are not a "random sample," he added.
"Any students presenting themselves for this exam are people who are serious about this subject. Anyone thinking 'there's an easy option' would have been making a mistake," he said. "It is a very rigorous and demanding subject - it is not an easy one."
Students could also have been under pressure because they were doing so many other subjects, he added. This meant they might have decided not to do the exam on the day.
"It could have frightened off a few people because the exam is pitched too high," he said. "Any kid of average or below average ability looking at that syllabus would be frightened off."