• Clear questions and good diagrams��with the occasional��tricky moment but nothing from the beyond.��
• Heavy emphasis on difference and differential equations��

Opening��the paper to Q1, students will have��been pleased��to start on a very regular note. They will be well-versed on the different��algorithms��as��they��have appeared in various combinations every year. The second question on a non-homogeneous��difference equation was very��clear and��doable.����Q2 began with a tricky task that required some cleverness and mental dexterity��as there was no sorting algorithm��on which to rely.��Students will have had to use their own procedural insights to work this out effectively.��This was balanced with a much��more familiar��second stage to the question.��Q3 was the first appearance on the new course of a classic question: a jolt. This was��a��nicely scaffolded collection of questions that will have helped��students��progress through the version stages of the scenario. Q4 on Collisions was very fair as even though the second part on oblique angles in snooker balls might have challenged some, it was nothing out of the ordinary for those who were prepared. Q5 on Circular Motion started a very nice question before increasing the difficulty in the second part with the introduction of gravity into vertical motion. This is a classic and while it poses more difficulty than regular circular motion on the horizontal, it does so in a very standard manner.��

Moving into the latter half of the questions, we find an abundance of difference and differential equations. These appear every year but never with such emphasis. Q6 opened with a very nice differential equational before introducing an interesting��scenario: an object dropped from a hot air balloon. The substance of this question was��nice��but students will have need to catch that be balloon is ascending when the object is dropped, so��it��is already��in��motion. Q7 was��a��difference��equation, with its inhomogeneous equation being akin to Q1.��Q8 on Acceleration started with a very nice question that ultimately was based in material from the log tables before moving into yet another difference equation.��

Q9��on��Integration by Parts might have become daunting for some students, not least because Part A contains an error in that it involves the natural log of zero, which doesn’t exist.��The 2nd��part of the question on vectors gave the students the answer to aim for but��rather than assuring them,��it��may��have been a perturbance. This question involved a large quantity of numbers running around the page and so could easily become ungainly. Some students might have��queried the question��as the quantity of numbers increased, the space on the page decreased, and the final target answer seemed distant. Hopefully students remembered that they just needed to keep moving and not get distracted. In pleasant contrast, the final question on Scheduling worked out nicely and neatly.��

Overall, students should be happy with this paper. The questions were very clear and supported by good diagrams. Some mental dexterity was necessary, but this was applied in a very fair manner.��

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• A positive mixture of predicted topics and pleasant surprises.��

Section A: The Search for��Meaning��and��Values’��first question was��dominated��by Aristotle’s philosophy. Students��will have��anticipated��this as Socrates and Plato took this role in previous years. The questions were��pleasantly��straightforward, asking the students to either profile his impact upon the discipline or how his ideas could be applied to a contemporary person in search of meaning. There were no tricks or twists to��these��questions as the��examiner��clearly��wants students to really show their knowledge from the off. Question 2 took a similar approach with its second part asking about the arguments of Anselm and Aquinas. As a��result,��this philosophical section invited the students to explore the ideas more directly and��efficiently��without having to decipher the��questions��or jump through hoops.��

Unit Two has three sections, of which students need do two.��The first,��Section B,��on Christianity will be welcomed by students as��anticipated��topics appeared. Students were asked about the threat that Jesus’ teaching posed to authorities, both Jewish and Roman in Palestine. The question on Christology��hadn’t��appeared since 2019, so again was��anticipated. The third part’s emphasis on “early Christian communities” might have caught some out as the locations were��very specific: Corinth, Philippi, Thessalonica. Section C on World Religions was also��very��student friendly. The��first question��was a pleasant surprise as��a��question on origins appeared in 2024 and would usually��be on hiatus for another year or two. This is a student��favourite, so many will be happy to with its early return. The following questions were equally��in keeping��with expectations and unburdened by awkward restrictions in their demands. Section D on Moral Decision-Making was nice but will have challenged students to cover the entire course. Those hoping to hedge their bets might have struggled but the span of material presented in the questions was very fair in reflecting the diversity of the topic.����

Unit 3��contains��four sections and student choice will be dictated by both their interest and their teacher’s selections. Section E on Religion and Gender is a short topic but a crowd favourite. The phrasing of the opening question might catch out one or two, but with a little thought would be very approachable. The question on the role of women in Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism,��Islam��and Judaism (do two) was wonderfully straightforward, allowing the student to shine on the page. Section G on Worship, Prayer��and Ritual followed suit, yet the middle question combined elements from across the��course as a whole. Much like in Section D, the exam challenged those who tried to adopt a myopic approach to studying the topic.����

Overall, even when trickier sections��emerged��students had��a great selection��of��viable��choices to ensure that they could fairly reflect their grasp of the subject.��

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• There were plenty of topical issues, but students will have had to keep the course material in mind to keep relevant and balanced.��

The paper begins with 15��short questions, of which students need to do 10. These were very topical, drawing together examples from the JAM Card��initiative, presidential election ballots, the Consumer Price Index and even a prison overcrowding.��Intriguingly��certain topics��(e.g. The Electoral Commission)��were��not directly��on��the syllabus were present��on the exam��and so students would have needed to quickly synthesise their study with a broader��awareness��of the world. In��general,��there was a greater emphasis on critical analysis in this section.��While��there��were questions with more straightforward commands like “describe”,��“state” or “give an example of…”,��there were also prompts to “comment on” a given example. Such questions��demand��that��students do more than recite definitions and so some will have found this assortment of��short questions��more challenging.��

Moving into the compulsory data-based questions, the two documents related to portrayals of Africa through cultural and��cartographic lenses.��Again��the questions mix the more straightforward comprehension��style��with discursive analytic skills. For��example,��Question C asked students to “explain what is meant by ‘maps are instruments of power’”. A clear effort to make the exam more challenging than previous years is��evident��here, but students��who where��able to think through the factors involved will be fine.��

The final stretch of the exam are the��essay��questions, of which students needed to answer��two. This year key thinkers were more prominent��as both��Edward Said and Martha Nussbaum��appeared.��The��latter’s question would have been trickier as the need to cover Nussbaum’s Capabilities Approach for both human and sustainable development would push the��35 minute��timeslot. There is so much that students needed to include that it would be hard to be succinct and to the point. Such rigour is essential when it comes to these tasks as tangents can be alluring. In the case of Question 3’s options on either the social contract or the state’s obligation to children’s rights, students��likely have��strong personal convictions on these��topics,��but they need to keep the remit of the course in mind.��Students who��kept their cool and took a balanced approach would notice that both these questions were effective paths to��discuss education in Ireland, the Equal Status Act etc. A similar approach was essential for the patriarchy essay, but the question scaffolded that balance in��a nice way. The final essay on “European Values” in Ireland was a nice reflection of our Presidency of the Council of Europe in July.��

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Overview: A more straightforward paper this year with a fairer section A than last year. Section A had a broad range of questions with a good gradient of difficulty. However, there was some slightly tricky wording of questions in section A that may have caught some students out. Section B was very fair overall, again with a broad range of questions that most students should have found appealing. Questions 15 and 16 may have caused some difficulties for students who might not have been as familiar with architecture or who were unsure how to approach long form essay style architecture questions. ��

Section A: a fair mix of questions that took a broader look at the course content this year over previous years. The wording of the questions in this section was accessible and allowed students to maximise their marks, provided they addressed all part of the question. The questions also allowed students to focus on singular aspects/topics which would have helped with exam timing. ��

One area that students might struggle in this section is the slightly more niche areas examined in some parts of questions like Q 6 (C). However, due to the construction of the question students could potentially still achieve high��markes��even if they did not fully address all aspects of this question. ��

Section B: ��

Question 11 (a) A single 40 mark question this year that was straightforward and gave students the opportunity to give varied answers and still achieve high marks.��

One area that might have caught Students out is mistakenly only dealing with one character, missing the plural “s” in the question which implies that they would need to deal with at least 2 characters here.��

Question 11 b (I), (ii), (iii) ��

Three very accessible questions here. It is great to see the return of the “and/or” language to questions here that give students greater autonomy in how they approach questions. Students who were��very familiar��with the Odyssey and the Aeneid��should��have done well here. ��

Question 12-16��

A broad range of topics from across strands of the were examined in this section, providing students with��great variety��of course content to choose from. The wording of the questions was clear with nothing that could catch students out. ��

Two questions that students might have been surprised to see were Q15 and Q16 that both deal with aspects of the Architecture section of the course.  Some students may have found these questions difficult in terms of length and level of detail as, to date, long answer essay questions on architecture have not been asked in this section of the exam.��

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• A tricky, specific approach to A.I. in schools was balanced with very student-friendly options.
• The compulsory sections will have challenged most students, while the sections with choice will have been very familiar to them.

When students saw A.I. as the subject for the Section A Reading Comprehension, many will have celebrated a little. However, as they read further, they discovered that this was a very challenging, teacher-centric take on the topic. The journalist passage is compulsory for all students and tries to reflect topics that are part of the world in which these young people live. While A.I. is schools is certainly a topic that they will be very aware of, this text focused on efforts by teachers to create a “Book in Progress AI” that predicts and adapts to students’ learning needs. This twist meant that students will have had to read the piece two or three times to make sense of it all. As a result the first two questions were quote tricky. While the third and fourth were copy and paste from the text, during the final question in English they would be strained to find a 4^th insight. One of the pitfalls posed by task is timing: students could spend too long trying to interpret the text and find that they have lost an hour already.

This challenge is balanced by nice selection of literary passages in Section B. There was lots of choice in this section, and all of them were accessible. Students shouldn’t have struggled with any vocabulary in the unseen section from “Niente di vero”. For those who covered “Il treno dei bambini” the question on the narrator’s mother was perfect because she is such a big character throughout the piece. Even the essay section had ample choice. For example, those looking to answer on the differences between the north and south of Italy in Ardone’s book could cover family, economy or culture with ease. This was a nice balance after the tricky first comprehension.

Section C tasks students with writing three compositions. A.I. in schools appeared again in Q1, which is always based off the theme of the journalistic passage. Students will have prepared material on A.I. but the many will find the specificity of the school setting restrictive. Any of their material on A.I. and jobs or society as a whole could only tangentially be included. Even though they only had to cover three of the five talking points, some might struggle to have enough to say. One of the more unusual prompts was on would they like a robot teacher. I doubt that anyone will have prepared talking points for this, but if they adapted they could have reused material about teachers they connected with. For students who have more control over the language, this was an opportunity to inject some humour into their writing.

The two latter parts of Section C balance out this challenge with very student friendly options. The guided composition was based on travelling in Italy and mentioned “sciopero” (strike) and “gelato”, both pieces of vocabulary with which they should be familiar. Students then had a choice of either a writing a formal complaint or an application letter, both of which are common styles from the past papers. The complaint letter was based on the scenario of attending a language school and while it contained the need for past conditional, this would be familiar to anyone who practiced previous version. The application letter was for a volunteer position, a style very similar to the job application. These final pieces are worth 50 marks, that same as the first two Section C compositions combined, so students should feel very happy with how approachable this section was.

After a short a break the students returned to do the aural. Typically the pace and vocabulary of the pieces is accessible, but the marking schemes tend to be very strict, so students will really need to have been attentive to the details. As always the CD starts with a series of short ads with multiple choice questions. This was very manageable, but some might get caught out be “ananas” meaning pineapple and not as they may suspect bananas. After that the dialogues were clear pieces between two friends and included the familiar themes of free time, learning a language and the differences between Italy and Ireland. The final piece was an interview with an athlete on the importance of sport and the challenge of professional sports. After a trickier written paper, this aural will have been a nice finale to their Italian Leaving Certificate.

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• The wording of questions was in line with most��previous��exams,��bar last year’s more difficult paper.��

• Time management should not have been an issue compared to last year��as there were fewer essay style question.����
• If students stuck the major��topics 1��(Skill and��Technique),��2��(Physiological and��Psychological��Development)��and 6��(Ethics)��they would have done very well.��

Open the exam to Section A students will have had to move quickly to answer 10 of the twelve short questions answer. Overall they find this a pleasant start a lot of nice stuff came up in section a such as the RAMP warm up, Anti-doping, Newton’s Laws, concepts of physical activity and levers. All of these appeared in a manner that students will have expected and so there should be no upsets here. Yet there was still distinct challenge as Q6 on the component of fitness was worded in a way that some will find tricky. Those seeking to more quickly gather their 8 marks per question will tend to avoid Q 3 media coverage on spectator behaviour and Q 9 Physical Activity as they are essays style questions. A prepared student will find a lot of familiar, approachable material here and so this stretch of the paper should have them nicely warmed up.

Section��B requires students to read a��case study and answer all questions (50 marks), so they have no choice here. Overall, it was a good case study based on swimming��and��I think the vast majority students will be pleased as nothing too tricky came up.��This section was dominated by ideas of��National governing bodies,��high performance��sport, periodisation and nutrition.��The latter topic was expected after its surprise absence on last year’s exam.��The question on energy systems was the only difficult part as some students struggle with��this topic but this where those who really know the course can separate themselves from their peers.��

The final stretch is��Section C Long Answer questions were students needed to��answer����3��out of 5��options. Beginning with��Q 14, parts��(a) to (c)��were��nice but part��(d)��was something most��try to��students avoid.��The reason is that��the question was based on artistic sports which are less mainstream��amongst the students��than a purposive sport (like��football). The rest of the question was made of familiar concepts around stages of learning, principles of effective��practice.��

Q 15 had more of an emphasis on contemporary issues in Physical Activity. Students may have avoided this due to the essay style question and more space for subjectivity. But the questions asked were straight from previous exam questions, so those who were ready and willing to take this on will be on a comfortable footing as they discussed body image, hegemony and benefits of physical activity.��

Q 16   would have drawn��students��to this as it was��predominantly from��Topic 6: Ethics. Students tend to love discussions around code of ethics, supplements,��sportsmanship��and performance enhancing drugs, so this question is always popular. The same goes for��Q 17 which drew on Topics 2: Physiological and Psychological Development. This is the longest topic on the course at��nearly 50%��longer than any��other, but��contains��a wealth of material that students gravitate towards like��confidence, motivation, psychological��strategies��and��principles of training.��

Much like Q15,��Q18 would have avoided this question��due to its topic and question type. While the topic of media is fascinating, the practical reality of the exam is that most could answer two other questions in the time it takes to fully answer this essay.��

Overall��not��a difficult question��but two of four parts were longer essay style questions which may have��impacted��time management.��The longer parts of the question would have been expected to come up.��

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• Questions focused on the “why” more than “what”.��

• Not past paper friendly��

��

Students will leave that exam wondering where the time went. At the best of times Economics is a race against the clock, but this paper included long introductions and enough conceptual framing that��pushed this��pace��even��further. Students will��likely have��paused for 30 seconds before committing pen to paper, and over the course of the whole exam those added up. This will have been��immediately��evident��in Section 1’s��short questions. The examples used were extremely topical and ranged from Spotify to Klarna to the aging farming population. Yet some the Economic concepts examples were dug from the lesser spotted areas of the course. Students would not have only needed to know the central talking points but also the footnotes��in order to��cover everything. Indeed, those who relied heavily on past papers to shape their grasp of the subject��as a whole will��have been shocked by the inclusion of��Kuznet’s��Curve which��hasn’t��yet��been examined. As such students hoping to lob down a quick definition and move on will have struggled to gain traction here.��

The long questions of Section 2 followed in a similar vein, though it is important to remember that the tougher task tend to loom larger in��our memories of the paper. The exam��definitely��pushed��the students to think about the��economic principles at play beneath the given scenario and��this��dissection��takes time and mental effort. The section opens with some familiar territory with Q11’s micro market structures. For the second year in a row imperfect competition was asked,��which��is unusual so��those��who relied heavily on patterns to filter their study regime might struggle. Q12 compared the economy of��the US and��Ireland, which will have suited those who knew their trade policies. Q13 was��probably the��most��similar to��past papers in how it covered topics like ECB interest rates and labour shortages.����

The challenge increases in Q14 which looks welcomingly��familiar at first glance. Those who ventured further will really have had to think when asked about the limitations of GDP on economic welfare. A top student could parse out the idea and feel rewarded but students hoping for something simpler to carry them over a grade line will be more��unsure. Q15 of Fiscal Policy follows a similar formula: a nice prelude on current and capital expenses before diving deeper. The questions on targeted support for citizens and broadening the tax base will test the depths of their knowledge.��A.I. made an appearance in the final phase of Q15 as students were asked to appraise its impact on the gap in productivity between foreign firms and Irish SMEs. The core ideas involved��aren’t��inherently hard, but the skills to dismantle the question will be what distinguishes the top scorers.��

Q16 was a supply and demand question framed around “coolcations”, holidays to cooler climates like Ireland. Students were asked about exchanges rates and the reasons behind tourist taxes, both of which should be manageable. The latter part of the question on the Production Possibility Frontier (PPF) compared Ireland and Malawi.��Again��this was very approachable if the students knew how to shift the curve.��

A student who entered this exam hoping for a repeat of the past papers will have struggled in this exam. However, those who went in ideas first and were always attentive to the underlying forces being examined will be happy.��

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• For the listening sections the set works were familiar with a few challenges creeping in for the Irish Music and Aural Skill Sections. The composition paper gave students the a platform to bring something extra to the pieces while not imposing any strange twists that might make the heart skip a beat.

Listening (Core)

This year’s Listening (Core) paper rewarded students who had made a thorough study of their set works, with no nasty surprises in Questions 1-4.�� The format of these questions was similar to recent years with a broad range of questions on musical features and instrumental and compositional techniques.�� The layout of the Irish Music listening question differed slightly from previous years, but the questions asked were mostly in line with student expectations.�� The question on Aural Skills was arguably the most challenging of the paper, due to the broad range of styles featured, and the inclusion of questions which required more than a ‘surface’ listening to the work.

Question 1: Berlioz

Question 1, which carries the most weight on the listening paper, was focused on Movement 4 of Symphonie Fantastique by Berlioz.�� Students who had made a thorough study of this movement will have been very happy with this question, with almost all sections covered.�� Nerves will have been settled with questions on instrument identification, rhythmic features, and instrumental techniques.�� While many students find the dictation question challenging, this portion was taken from the familiar March Theme was very manageable as the missing notes all move by step. The final part of the question allowed students to show their knowledge of the illustrative writing of the programmatic content in the work.

Question 2: Mozart

Question 2, which was based on Mozart Piano Concert no 23, was also very student friendly.�� This question tested students on their knowledge of musical features of the work, such as Alberti bass and cadenza.�� Students were asked to compare differences between Movement 1 and Movement 2 and again, and this was a lovely opportunity to show their knowledge, with lots of possible answers here.

Question 3: Deane

Although some students struggle to get to grips with Seachanges by Raymond Deane, the well-prepared student will have been happy with this question.�� It started with a short rhythmic dictation featuring the Danse Macabre rhythm, before the expected questions on compositional and instrumental techniques, which are such a big feature of this work. Those who had studied their scores in depth will have been happy to have an opportunity to explain the differing meanings of the symbol denoting flutter tonguing, percussive rolls, and tremolo bowing.

Question 4: Beatles

Question 4 tested students’ knowledge of the song Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.�� Again, there will have been relief all round, with questions rewarding students who had analysed features such as tonality, instrumentation and important chord progressions in this song.

QUESTION 5: Irish Music

The layout of the question on Irish music departed from previous years, with four musical excerpts instead of the usual three, and unusually the inclusion of a small dictation.�� Students were asked to fill in some missing notes to the well-known tune Planxty Irwin.�� Students with a background in Irish traditional music will have had a slight advantage here, but questions on dance identification and traditional and non-traditional features, were similar in style to previous years.�� Students expecting a question on sean nós singing may have been slightly thrown by a song instead featuring a lilting style but will have been able to pick up most of their marks in the remainder of the question.

QUESTION 6: Aural Skills

Question 6 challenged students to analyse a broad range of musical styles, within an orchestral context. While some students may have recognised excerpts and interpretations of music from Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake and The Nutcracker, they will have been less familiar with music by Florence Beatrice Price and Arturo Marquez.�� Students will have enjoyed the mixture of styles here but were nonetheless challenged to listen deeply for a range of melodic and rhythmic features, forms and textures.�� With such a broad range of musical styles and question format, this question was arguably the most challenging section of the the paper.

Composing

After a break students returned for to show their skill with composition. With most students opting for Questions 1 and 5 on this paper, there will have been lots of sighs of relief here, as this was a very student friendly paper.�� Students were tested on their knowledge of both major and minor tonalities, with a major melody featured in Question 1 and a minor harmony featured in Question 5.�� Question 1 was an Eb major upbeat melody, in 4/4 time.�� While upbeat melodies tend to be slightly more rhythmically challenging than melodies with no upbeat, the two quaver upbeat in this question will have been very manageable for most higher level students.�� In this question students are asked to compose a 16 bar melody, using a given 4 bar opening. In addition to knowing how to handle the given anacrusis, students will have been expected to make use of other unique features such as the dotted rhythm in bar 1, and the single quaver rest in bar 2.�� Melodically, the question featured a mixture of step and triadic movement, with repeated notes and leap of a 6^th also featured.�� There was plenty of scope for imagination here, without anything to worry a well-prepared student.

Question 5 was similarly student friendly. While the F# minor tonality will have required a careful approach when composing the bass line, the cadence points were easily identifiable and students who had studied and practiced using their strong chord progressions will have been well equipped to tackle this question.�� The triadic nature of the given bass line was very manageable for students to replicate in their answer, and students had plenty of options for good solutions to the various chord progressions throughout the question.

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• Very manageable paper with a few curveballs that will push the students think conceptually.
• Some students might have kneejerk reactions to diagrams, but if they kept their heads screwed on they will have found very approachable questions.

Opening the paper to Section A: Core, students will have started on a confident note with QA-1. True length and true angle should be in their arsenals since the beginning of 5th year, so this will be a nice familiar entry into the paper. Similarly, QA-3 on Surface Development was approachable in its clear implementation of fundamental ideas. It was nice to see a resurgence of Solids in Contact in QA-2, which is an area that really suits those that gravitate towards visualisation tasks or fields like architecture. The interaction of the of the cylinder and sphere was unorthodox and so students might have had a negative initial reaction. But the subject requires students to push their skills and solve problems, so this question reflected that value perfectly. Something similar happens in QA-4 as the diagram shows an axis being off centre, not the usual perfectly vertical or horizontal from past papers. The topic itself was nice as students tend to favour the parabola in Conic Sections thanks to the regular eccentricity ratio of 1-to-1. Those who weren’t startled by novelty will have found a really nice question and leave the section content with their performance.

In Section B, the question setter as made sure to make every question accessible while also including a twist in the final stretch to get the students thinking. After its absence on last year’s paper, the return of Axonometric axes in QB-1 will have been anticipated by many. Those who prepared this topic will find most of the question drawn from standard stuff. Looking at QB-2, many will have had a kneejerk reaction to the large number of curves in this Orthographic task and instantly decided to expend their energies elsewhere. In that case the Coordinate Geometry of QB-3 was a great option as it was built on the bread and butter of the course. Using a structure in Dublin Port as a launching point, the core concepts like dihedral angles and angles of inclination will be clear to most.

Section C: Applied Graphics, contains five topics and which one a student attempts is often down to their teacher and the range of subjects available in their school. For those attempting C-1 on Geologic Geometry, the question was standard and fair. The same goes for C-4 on Dynamic Mechanisms (popular with those who do Engineering) and C-5

on Assemblies. For the latter those who relish precision and procedure will have been pleased, but this is a marmite question for many: love it or hate it. The marking scheme is very strict in enforcing the standards, conventions and tolerances, so rigour is essential. For C-2: Structural Forms, the hyperbolic paraboloid was highly anticipated, and everyone should be very happy with these questions. It was lovely and didn’t include any additional complex geometry. C-3 on Surface Geometry was similar, but students will have needed to keep their heads screwed on at the sight of the curve and to make sense of “R900”. But those who kept cool will have been really happy with this question.

Overall, the paper examined the real skills of DCG. Not just the numbers and lines but the core concepts at the heart of the subjects. Those who could conceptualise the objects, think through the problem as well as follow the procedures should be very happy with that exam.

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• Students who had put in the time to work through the past papers will find themselves in familiar territory.��

Consistent with previous years,��this paper��was designed to assess students’ understanding rather than catch them out. It��provided a good opportunity for those��who had regularly and diligently practised��Accounting��questions over the two years to��demonstrate��their knowledge, refine their exam technique, and complete the required tasks within the��allocated��time.��

In Section 1, students as usual had a choice between Q1 on the preparation of final accounts or the option of completing two 60 mark questions. As guaranteed again this year, students who chose to do Q1 were given two options and this year these related to the Company Final Accounts and Limited Company including a Manufacturing Account. Both options were straightforward and reflected questions asked in the past. The trial balance in both contained nothing unusual but students will have needed to read these carefully to spot annual insurance included a prepayment (Q1A), VAT was a debit implying money owed to the firm (Q1A and Q1B), and the debtors figure included the provision for bad debts (Q1B). There were the standard nine adjustments in both questions, and these would all have been familiar but again careful reading and thinking was needed. Students were not given the depreciation rate on equipment but instead were required to deduce this year’s depreciation from the cost/book value and accumulated depreciation figures given. This was a nice variation but should not have troubled students who thought it through logically. A contingent liability was included as an adjustment but students should have been familiar with how to do this from their work on published accounts (Q1A).��

The three optional 60-mark questions consisted of Cash Flow, Club Accounts and Creditors control)��and��students��attempting��this��option��would have been pleased. Control accounts may have been a surprise for some students as they appeared as a��60 mark��question last year also��and such repetitions are��very rare. The theory element of all three questions in this section was straightforward and would have been asked before although the theory in the control account question may have proved a little testing for some students.��

In��Section 2, students��were required��to complete two questions. The three questions in��Section 2 consisted of Interpretation of accounts which had been guaranteed, Published Accounts and the Correction of Errors. Again, most students will have been expecting these as possibilities and should have had them prepared. The questions themselves were��very nice��and did not��contain��anything that students would have not seen and practiced in previous years questions.��

The ratios in��Question 5 were very straightforward and Q5(b) concerned the debenture holders. Part (c) theory concerned the difference between a public and private limited company and the repayment of a debenture loan which most students would have found very manageable. Q6��was on the��anticipated��Published Accounts��in which the purchase of land was included and��consequently��students would just need to be careful when calculating the depreciation on the premises. Similarly, returns outwards were included in the trial balance which students will need to have remembered to include in the calculation of cost of sales.��Q7 on Correction of Errors was a very typical question and��contained��nothing that students would not have come across before.��Error (iv) needed some thought as both payments were from a private bank account and therefore classified as capital introduced and may have challenged the weaker students.��It is in moments like this that those who had done a large volume of examples as preparation will have noticed that variation and reacted within the tight time constraints of the exam.��

Moving into Section 3,��Q8 was on Job Costing and Under/Over Absorption��This was��a��very nice��question and very doable within the time��as it��reflected��similar questions��asked in the past. Many students will have been delighted to see this question appear in such a traditional form��meaning that while names and number might have been altered, the format of the task was identical to past questions.��This familiarity was also��evident��in��Q9��which��was a combined Cash/Production Budgeting question which students would have practiced.��In both cases the theory questions were very approachable without any twists or stings.��

Overall, this was a fair paper the really reflects the skill set taught in Accounting. Students who looked to build that skill set will have been pleased that their hard work paid off.��

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The exam opens with a��selection��of questions that students will find very fair. There was nothing here that will strike them as being overly novel or challenging, particularly if they revised the��previous��exams. Where challenges did appear, they were mitigated by choice.��So,��if a student was surprised to see two of the mechanics experiments appear (though they did last year too) or where somewhat thrown by the need to sketch a graph in Q1 (v), they had the ability to navigate to more familiar options.��

However��moving into Section B, students will find that each question had a twist. Q6 is normally��very popular��with students but they will be challenged a bit more than in previous years. For example, part (c)’s request to “describe an experiment to demonstrate Archimede’s principle” will require them��to think a little more laterally about the material. Those hoping to quickly rattle off a definition will have to really parse through��the question to get full marks. Students who also do Applied Maths tend to favour Q7 on mechanics, but the question setter has been careful to calibrate that overlap and remind them that this is a Physics paper. As such,��the question begins conventionally but moves to Sound in part (vii),��meaning that 18% of the available marks��lay in a different topic.��

The next two questions were very fair but still might cause the overhasty student to stumble. Q8 on Light starts with a nice preamble from “Let there be light” by��Montwell��and Breslin, before��proceeding��along standard lines of enquiry. To��conclude this question students will again need to describe an experiment, this time for transverse waves. There are two experiments in this area of the course on waves but only one applies here and so if a student missed “transverse”,��16% of that question could be instantly unavailable. Q9 on Sound production is also a fair question, but the inclusion of wind instruments��won’t��be popular with students. While the theory necessary for wind instruments is no more complicated than that for��violin, students often struggle to fully visualize the column of air as clearly as the vibrating string.����

Q10 was a full question on capacitors, which are leaving the course this year. It is unusual to see a full question on capacitors but as this is its final year it is clearly given centre stage for its swan song. In contrast Q11 was mixed bag of topics ranging from��cathode ray tubes (the kind from old boxy television sets), colours and magnetism. For the latter, the inclusion of a “derive the formula” question and the debut appearance of Fleming’s left-hand rule will��be off-putting for some.��

The final trio of questions will be��largely familiar��from past papers, again with little twists to make the H1s stand out. For��example��students will have needed to do some��additional��maths to get the half-life of polonium-210. But Q13 on the home of the future was a collection of conventional questions paired with a slightly novel (if not wordy) scenario. Q14 was another mixed bag question which will be particularly popular with those who covered Applied Electricity in class.��

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This is the final examination of the current Chemistry course and SEC has chosen to shun any fanfare,��hoorah��or shocks to��stay true to trends of previous years.��

The exam has eleven questions from which students needed to choose their preferred eight. While this technically means that they could avoid the initial trio of experiments, many will jump straight in to Q1 on water crystallisation. This experiment hasn’t been examined since 2020, so those who were monitoring patterns in the past papers will have had a sense it might make an appearance. Q2 was a conglomeration of three different Organic Chemistry experiments. Students often have a love/hate relationship to Organic Chemistry, due in no small part to the large quantity of the course it occupies. This means that sometimes they hedge their bets on what experiment will come up to cut down on revision, but that didn’t work here. Q3 on ions in water will also be very familiar but interestingly also includes a calculation. Typically only two of the three would involve stoichiometry, but all of them did. This often helps distinguish the topic scorers from everyone else as it requires a different set of skills. Much of the course can be revised through recitation but those who want that H1 will need to demonstrate a higher order approach to the material and the question setter seems to have built that into this selection of experiments.��

Q4 is an array of��short questions��with a heavy emphasis on Atomic Theory and Organic Chemistry, which is very��conventional.��Indeed��the majority of��the following questions were reminiscent of past papers such that those who were well practiced will recognise over 90% of what was presented here.��Naturally��there were a few inventive variations to challenge them to apply their knowledge more diagnostically. An example of this is Q5 (c) which asks whether an��element��is an oxidising or reducing agent, and to justify your response. This��can’t��be tackled by simply searching your memory banks and so tests the students understanding of the concepts involved.��

Q6 was a��really nice��Fuels and��Rates of��Reaction question while Q7 was a very manageable full question on Chemical Equilibrium. Q8 saw yet more Organic Chemistry, as was a motif of this paper. While such an emphasis might seem excessive from the outside, students will be familiar with this as it has been present on all the��papers recently. Q9 on Rates of Reaction was 50% graph work, 50% theory.��Rates of Reaction was part of the experiments for the last 2 years and so students will have expected to see it make an appearance here. Closing out the exam, Q10 and Q11 offer internal choice and yet again Atomic Theory and Organic Chemistry appear.��

Overall, a student who had spent the time to study their past papers will be pleased with this paper as the valuable insights gained there had a tangible impact in this exam. For the student seeking a H1, there were enough opportunities to display skills beyond rote learning that will help them distinguish themselves from the crowd.��

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