Philosophers "become, most of them, very odd birds, not to say thoroughly vicious . . . and useless as members of society." Students of classical studies have been warned. Yesterday, higher-level students were asked how Socrates dealt with this claim by Adeimantus.

ASTI subject representative Mr Michael Barry said both ordinary-level and higher-level papers were fair and well-balanced although they were "demanding and quite challenging in the sense that candidates had to answer eight questions in three hours." These could all be essay-type questions, depending on the student's choice.

The papers were broad and reflected the syllabus very well. There was something for almost every candidate, he said. "I was particularly happy with the ordinary-level paper which was very straightforward. The candidates were very, very happy." The higher-level paper was more challenging but, generally speaking, students were happy enough and relieved it was all over, said Mr Barry, who teaches in St Patrick's Girls' Secondary School, Cork.

He commended the quality of the illustrations, which were reproduced on glossy paper. This is very important for the candidates, he said. The plan of the Roman town (illustration G, higher-level paper X) came out quite well. Indeed, the illustration were excellent all round, he said; it's good to see the Department spending money on this.