Junior Cert French: Navan Junior Certificate students were once again presented with a modified exam paper, after the State Examinations Commission ordered a postcard featuring a school bus to be removed from yesterday's ordinary-level French exam.

Exam scripts delivered to four second-level schools in Co Meath carried an alternative illustration and question.

Some 10,000 candidates were entered to sit yesterday's Junior Certificate ordinary level French exam. Almost 420 candidates sat the exam in Navan. The ordinary paper was considered fair and students expressed satisfaction with both the listening and written sections.

But the Junior Certificate French higher paper was regarded as "very difficult" by commentators, who were particularly concerned at the vocabulary in the comprehension section and a change of format in the composition section.

"Some of the later comprehension passages were very long and the words used were pitched at very able students," said TUI representative Paula Lennon. "There was little room for guesswork and many answers relied on the student recognising a single word, with no further clues provided."

The inclusion of a formal letter was unexpected, as was a change in the composition section.

"It's been years since a formal letter has appeared on the Junior Cert exam paper and many students would not have been prepared for it," said Bernard Lynch of the ASTI.

"Teachers will probably respond by giving more class time to formal letters next year - this is a backwards step when we are trying to make the syllabus more engaging and communicative for students."