For 170 Leaving Cert Italian students, yesterday morning's exams should not have presented any probleme. Mr Aidan Farrell, a teacher in Scoil Eoin, Athy, Co Kildare, said the comprehension on the higher-level paper was demanding but fair. There was a good choice in the questions on the novel.

Students who did not understand the Italian phrase, Laurearsi conviene daverro?, asking them if graduation is worthwhile, may have had some difficulty with the written comprehension linked to the journalistic comprehension passage. However, the guided composition and the letters were fine.

Both higher and ordinary-level students listen to the same tape but answer different sets of questions in the aural exam. "The aural was demanding enough," he said. "It was little more difficult than normal for ordinary-level students. Higher-level students thought the aural was fine but they were not overly enthusiastic."

The written ordinary-level paper should not have caused students any problems.