Leaving Cert business: Students would have been able to predict many of the topics which came up on yesterday's Leaving Certificate higher level business paper, which earned praise from teachers for the topical nature of some of the questions.

Last year, twice as many students took higher level business studies than the ordinary level paper. Candidates sitting yesterday's exam faced a mix of short and long questions, as well as a compulsory Applied Business Question (or ABQ)

This featured a company whose main shareholder did not recognise any trade union within his electrical firm, but paid the recommended trade union rates to his apprentices. According to Joseph Gallagher, TUI subject representative from St. Eunan's College, in Letterkenny, yesterday's higher level exam was a "very straightforward and very fair paper."

"One thing a lot of our students coming out were commenting on is that a lot of the topics that came up were ones they would have prepared for," he said. "I was very pleased to see topical things such as the new members of the EU and enlargement coming up."

This year's paper was broadly similar to last year's exam, he said, although if anything it was a little bit more student-friendly.

"I think the borderline student would have been quite happy, it was a very doable paper . . . and for good "A" students I couldn't see anything to hold them back."

"We're trying to get students interested in business and I think this paper would help that."

Philip Curry of Ashfield College in Dublin agreed that most students would have been happy with yesterday's higher level paper. He pointed out that areas of the syllabus which had not been asked before, such as the Consumer Information Act, appeared this year. This meant anybody who took the time to analyse what topics had not appeared in previous years would have been well prepared.

David Duffy of the Business Studies Teachers Association of Ireland said the paper was "very relevant, practical and approachable."

However, he pointed out that the "break even" chart may have confused some weaker students.

Yesterday's ordinary level paper was also very much in line with previous patterns, Mr Curry said.

"Once again anyone who had stuck to exam patterns and past papers would be fine," he said. "It comes down to exam preparation."