Leaving Cert mathematics

Sir, – While this year’s honours Leaving Cert Paper 1 was well received by the majority of students, the questions on the whole were very routine, involving very simple mathematical calculations. Many of the questions, such as those on polynomials, series and sequences and integration, and indeed some on differentiation, would have been well placed on an ordinary-level paper. This paper was not of a standard necessary to challenge our brightest cohort of students in mathematics in this country at this level, and those interested in raising and maintaining standards should be concerned.

I have sympathy for lower-level students as there was a lack of routine questions on their paper. It is unfair to penalise students taking the examination at this level. – Yours, etc,

Dr CORA STACK,

Lecturer in Mathematics,

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Institute of Technology,

Tallaght.