Exam diary
More time, more choice. Those have been the phrases of this year’s Leaving Cert following the changes brought in as a result of the pandemic.
Before the announcement was made about the changes to the format, we’d been used to writing answers out by hand in as quick a time as possible.
Having the same amount of time but fewer questions to answer has made such a difference. In my maths exam, I was able to concentrate, look over my answers and not feel so rushed.
I couldn’t imagine having to do the exams the way they used to be. There will never be a time in your life where you need to learn so much information and write it out in such a tight time period. I think it’s shown how bad the previous system was and I don’t think it would be fair to go back to it.
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That said, the class of 2021 has endured a lot. The first lockdown was the worst. We went from in-class learning to everything being online, with the teachers and students going through a steep learning curve and not everyone having great broadband to do our work.
Unable to see friends
We didn’t know when schools would be open again and we missed a lot of learning while, at the same time, we weren’t able to see our friends. It was fair to do the exams differently this year.
I was happy walking out of Irish paper two because we had more time and more choice. I answered one reading comprehension and then focused on the poem Géibheann, which I’d been hoping would show up.
I was very happy with biology. I liked the questions that came up and I finished up early, which gave me time to do an additional long question as a back up. I really liked the genetics question.
I’ve two exams left, French and physics. I’m hoping for something topical on the French paper, and I’ve a week before physics. I’m glad to have that break; it will give me time to study – and to catch my breath.
- Aoife Walsh is a Leaving Cert student at Castlecomer Community School, Co Kilkenny.