Sensible, practical and relevant, were just some of the terms used to praise yesterday morning's home economics papers.
Higher-level students were asked about iron in the diet, a topic which is very relevant to teenagers, said Ms Margaret McCluskey, ASTI subject representative and a teacher in Christian Brothers' College, Monkstown, Dublin. Question 4, which asked students about planning meals for vegetarians and vegans, was also relevant and straightforward, she said.
Under the social section, higher-level students were asked about providing consumers' rights as well as homelessness, changes to the structure to the family and such practical items as lighting and central heating. Students were very happy leaving the exam, said Ms McCluskey.
At ordinary level, nutritional topics such as calcium and dietary fibre featured while the social section included family breakdown, substance abuse, and services for the elderly. Both higher and ordinary-level papers were topical, and students who had been reading the newspapers as well as the textbooks would have been rewarded for their efforts, noted Ms McCluskey.
She praised questions 8 and 9 on the ordinary level which were especially relevant to teenagers. Question 8 asked students to discuss the factors to be considered by a young person looking for rental accommodation while question 9 asked them to plan and describe the layout of a study-bedroom suitable for a second-level student.
TUI subject representative Ms Ann Mc Nicholl said: "With all the gloom and doom and horror stories this week, I was dreading the home economics papers but I was pleasantly surprised". Both higher and ordinary-level papers were fair, said Ms McNicholl, who teaches in Carndonagh Community School, Co Donegal. "There was plenty of scope for students to reflect their knowledge. The language was user-friendly and neither paper contained any schocks." On the whole, they were good, testing, papers, well-worded and sensible, she said.
Some 24,000 students were entered for the home economics (scientific and social) paper while 221 entered for home economics (general).