Junior Certificate: musicMiss Saigon brought a splash of drama to an otherwise "humdrum" Junior Cert music paper yesterday.

Music is a popular subject among Junior Certs, with one in five students sitting yesterday's paper. It is a particular favourite of girls - almost three quarters of music students are female.

Students and teachers were comfortable with most aspects of the paper, but section three, on Irish music, posed problems for some. "Section three was taxing on both the higher and ordinary level papers," said teacher and ASTI subject convenor Maria Morgan.

"The section took up two pages where as it would normally only be a page long. Students were given a piece of music to listen to and they had to identify whether it was a work song, a love song, a drinking song or a lament. That was a tough question."

Students were also asked to name three types of traditional Irish music and one well-known player in one of the traditions. In the chosen songs and works section, the modern musical Miss Saigon featured. Many of Ms Morgan's students had seen it and such a recent work was a welcome addition to the paper, she said. Paul Simon's 59th Street Bridge Song also surfaced on yesterday's paper.

The ordinary level paper was also well received, but with some reservations about the length and complexity of the traditional Irish music section. Nearly 2,000 students did ordinary level.