• An emphasis on discursive writing in Section 1 won鈥檛 suit everyone.
• Viable choices for everyone, but not everyone鈥檚 preferences.
• Section 2 will have allowed students to really take their pen for a walk.

This was a real English paper. It prioritised independent thought, analysis and a sense of structure. Sometimes you needed to find the question that was best suited to you as not every opportunity would have jumped out at first glance. While not as immediate as some previous papers once students orientated themselves, they could really let fly. The overall theme of 鈥淚nfluence鈥� asked students to not only look back but set their sights on the future, that place where young people鈥檚 thoughts are drawn to. There was a visionary sentiment that permeated the tasks and really allowed students food for thought and the space to grapple with material being covered in the classroom.

All the texts were contemporary, drawn from works published in 2024 and 2025 and so the paper really captured a sense of the current moment. The topics were nice and meaty, particularly for those with a passion for the arts. We had discussion of place, historical fiction and the role of the arts in shaping interpretation. The ideas were both reflective and inspiring as Art, Music and History combined in a lovely range of questions. Those who preferred the ordered STEM approach might find some of the texts disappointing, but for those who really relish the heart and soul of the subject might even have enjoyed them. But regardless of one鈥檚 preferences, no one was locked out of this paper. The language was accessible and some of the connections were wonderful, such as the timely discussion of A.I. in parallel to the industrial revolution.

All the Part Bs were equally approachable, again letting students make their choice based on the topics they best connect with rather than the particular rigours of genre. However, the range of genre choices this year were notably narrower. This is the first time since 2021 that no personal writing prompts appeared. Indeed much of Section 1 tended towards a discursive mentality. Every student should be familiar with the styles and be able to navigate this section well but some who really shine with expressive writing might have found the article, letter and proposal very similar in sentiment. Yet the topics were wonderful and gave every student a chance to really explore novel ideas. The first option asks them to envisage their ideal town but also interrogate the challenges posed to such an aspiration. The second asked them to consider the value of a postage stamp in cultural and human terms rather than simple currency. Lastly the proposal for Culture Night 2027 asked them to consider how best to celebrate culture in their community, allowing them to assess for themselves what that means to them. One first look some will have found the choices limiting but once they really got into the meat of the topics, they could really make each option their own.

While the paper may have started with a narrow path, in Section 2 it opened into a wonderful vista of options. Those who prepared for the short story will have seen Question 1 and simply taken their pen for a walk. The 鈥渃haracter at odds with the community鈥� trope is at once so open, approachable and for many relatable that despite never seeing this question before, it will feel familiar. For those who love art and music and relish that creative pulse in their lives Questions 3 and 4 let them channel that into the genre that best suits them. The debate topic on social media influencers is so topical and part of their lives that many will have the key talking points brimming on the tip of their pen. The only awkward option of the seven was Q6 which asked students to take a minor character from a historical novel and spin her out into a central character of their text. This imposed character and setting on students and those who aren鈥檛 as versed in history might have found the necessary period setting off putting. Yet the final personal essay prompt on 鈥渁 moment that was enriching for you鈥� will ensure that everyone, no matter their academic background or preferences will be able to dig deep and express what really influenced them.

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• Students who focused on covering the syllabus will find the paper very approachable but those who tried to streamline their work based on past papers will find themselves pigeon-holed.

Sitting into their afternoon exam, students will have opened Section A and been pleased with a very food focused array of questions. The first eight questions mainly approached the topic from the perspective of nutrients, which narrowed the focus a little but ultimately was very fair in what was asked. The later stages of the section were broader but nicely asked. The students were examined on topics ranging from Housing Development to Pensions to Microwaves. For those who had drilled short questions as part of their exam preparation there was nothing here that would startle them. The Home Economics exam is a race against the clock and students will be glad there was nothing in this section that could break their momentum. 

Emerging into Section B some might stumble over the new verbiage of the questions. Previous papers were consistent in their use of 鈥渃omment and elaborate鈥� but this was replaced by 鈥渃ompare and evaluate鈥�. While a strong student would recognise these as functionally the same and not break stride, some of the more anxious students might have a moment of pause. That being said, everyone will have been delighted by the appearance of Protein as the compulsory question. Last asked in 2020 and before that 2014, this is the first time in a decade that students will have seen this topic in the exam hall. The way it was examined was more accessible with less emphasis on the chemical aspects. 鈥淧rotein鈥� seems to be plastered on everything, so it was a topical choice by the exam setter, but students still needed to know the material to ensure that terms like 鈥渄eamination鈥� are adequately covered. 

Students will be happy with the appearance of Vegetables in Question 2 but Part C took a different spin on the topic and asked about spoilage rather than preservation.  Question 3 was also very topical as it explored issues surrounding Ultra Processed Foods. The question鈥檚 approach was very balanced and invited students to explore the pros and cons involved while also giving them lots of scope to draw together aspects of the course. Question 4 was another long-awaited return, this time for Budgeting whose last appearance was in 2019. Students might be disappointed to not be asked to provide a budget though. The question on changes in consumer shopping was reminiscent of the 2024 paper, so those who hadn鈥檛 delved as deep into the exam archives will still recognise parts. 

The Elective questions in Section C will see many students going straight to Elective 4 (Core) as this allows them to reaffirm the value of the revision they did for the earlier sections. However some will have been upset to see Core 3 appear in Part C. This part of the course has never appeared on a June exam paper and only once in a deferred paper. The question was very workable, as was the other option for Part B, but required students to put more faith in knowing the course and making educated guesses.  

Ultimately, those who focused on covering the syllabus will have found themselves content with the paper. Those who tried to think just in terms of the patterns of previous papers will find themselves stretched to search the corners of their memories.

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• The paper challenged candidates to navigate the specifics of the question while also offering them a movable feast of material.聽
• A paper that required students to keep an eye on the moving parts of the question聽in order to聽stay purposeful.

On receiving their papers most candidates will have quickly flipped to the back to see whether their preferred poets appeared. The names 鈥淏ishop鈥� and 鈥淢eehan鈥� have been on everyone鈥檚 lips in the run up to this afternoon and so students will likely have started the exam on a little moment of triumph before venturing further. 

Turning back to the beginning, candidates were met by a choice of Macbeth questions that were more fair than foul. Many students will have opted for the second question on order and disorder which placed them on steady ground. Those who knew their nature imagery or kingship will have found plenty of scope to integrate that work into their answers. The first question on dramatic techniques had a little twist as it specifies the effect on the audience, 鈥渟ympathy for the central character Macbeth鈥�. Students who remembered their soliloquies will have been able to adjust but the specificity of the question will be what differentiates candidates鈥� results.  

Moving into the Comparative, the appearance of all three modes will have let candidates select the option that best suits them. While many of the questions had quite specific requirements, candidates who kept a constant eye on the verb 鈥渃ompare鈥� will have been able to integrate their most different texts effectively. For Cultural Context students could focus on either social mobility or patriarchal power structures, with many likely finding the latter more accessible. The General Vision and Viewpoint section reflected a very human perspective for both authors and readers: the oft contrasting forces of rationality and emotion. Students were given the space to dive into the characters in really interesting ways, so those you really reflected on the ideas present will have enough for substantive answers. The Literary Genre questions were reminiscent of the previous years, only with the spin of focusing on beginnings rather than conclusions. Exactly where the beginning ends will be open to the candidate to argue and they will still be able to draw upon later events to make their arguments robust. If candidates took the time to note out the elements of the questions and contextualise them within their own revision, this was a movable feast of topics, ideas and moments. 

The poetry section starts with unseen poetry. While Alvy Carragher鈥檚 鈥淟ibrary鈥� might be unfamiliar to candidates, the questions鈥� approaches were not. Of the eight prescribed poets, five appear on the paper. Few will have had their fingers crossed for Smith or Eliot after their appearance last year, but those who preferred Heaney might be disappointed. Yet the other three Irish poets did appear, so students will have been gladdened by the familiar names of Meehan,聽Yeats聽and N铆聽Chuillean谩in. These were joined by Bishop and Donne to provide a spread that will have offered something for everyone. The questions were laid out in the consistent manner of concerns and styles that students will be聽familiar聽with and there were no peculiar twists that will send them scrambling to reassess their understanding. If you studied聽Yeats聽you聽will聽have the personal and political material ready to go. If you knew聽Bishop聽you will already know what her 鈥減recise鈥� style is and how it builds to a 鈥渙ften troubling鈥� mood. All questions were invitations to discuss statements and so passionate candidates to calibrate their responses to really show off their appreciation.

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• A challenging selection of short questions was balanced with perfect essay choices.

Geography might no longer be a core subject for Junior Cert, but this paper proves that it is an essential subject for students as they become citizens out in the world. 

How students feel about that exam will depend on the order they approached the sections. Many students will have jumped right to the end to look at the large essay questions and been thrilled with the Geo-Ecology selections. Both Soils and Biomes were present and were a perfect reflection of the cycle of questions we鈥檝e seen in previous years. Furthermore, the questions had straightforward wording that allowed students to get the pen moving while also scaffolding all the various stages of their essay nicely.  

Some students prefer to get their bearings by starting with the short questions and for them this exam would have started with a steep uphill slog. This selection of questions will have pushed them to an extent they won鈥檛 have anticipated in a section that is typically steady ground for the anxious. The inclusion of elevation profiles, UV indexes (which has never been examined before) and text heavy questions that were more reminiscent of a 20-mark task will have made students dig deeper than previous years. Some instances, such as the effects of isostatic uplift, will have left them unsure exactly what the corrector will be looking for.  

Between these two extremes, everyone should be content with Part 2: Structured and Essay writing. Most students will do two from Physical Geography and will be happy with the nice bank of topics. The predicted appearance of Erosion will be a relief and staples like Rocks and human interaction with surface processes will be familiar. One question on Plate Boundaries harkened back to material they would have covered at the start of 5th year when they were fresh with the topic and so this 30 marker will have been seen as a nice option by many. 

One of the most notable aspects of the paper was Elective 5鈥檚 questions on migration. This topic hasn鈥檛 appeared on a paper since 2017 despite being widely discussed outside of the exam hall. Students who knew the syllabus and the previous questions will have found this section very approachable and been able to lay out their 15 SRPs (Significant Relevant Points) effectively. However, some students will have been drawn towards a more discursive approach to these questions which will struggle to garner marks within the precision of the subject and the marking schemes. As with all exams, discipline and insight into how the exam interacts with the remit of curriculum was key for success here.

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The goal of the Maths course has been to develop students who can use Maths to investigate, model, interpret, communicate and make decisions about real world situations rather than simply perform mathematical procedures. This Paper reflected that ambition to a tee. 

Students who were confident in their mathematical abilities towards the start of their second level education but struggled with the gear shift into the more abstract Senior Cycle material will have found themselves in a comfortable and assured position. The paper didn鈥檛 test how quickly students could run through the steps but rather what interpretation and methodologies they would take. It was an exam where they needed to stop and think before putting their pen to the page. It wasn鈥檛 a test of speed but of understanding. 

In Section A students will have had no issue finding their preferred 5 questions. There were a few little tricky diagrams without numbers that might through a more anxious student but they are few and far between. The exam setter, aware of a new course on the horizon, has cast their eyes back to the early days of Project Maths to draw upon samples and questions that have rarely appeared in a June examination. Students will be pleased to find that this paper was an accessibility incremental extension of Junior Cycle material. 

Section B: Contexts and Applications sees the exam interact with the real world even more. In a range covering bus timetables, Income Tax, advertising and sales, and training for a marathon, students will be able to see how the skills practiced in the classroom can be applied to everyday life. There were a few twists on previous questions such as being given the net annual tax and having to work backwards to get the gross annual income, which is an inversion on some questions they would have seen on past papers. However the examiner is clearly drawing from samples papers and questions that haven鈥檛 been asked with an eye on towards the looming reforms

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• An accessible beginning followed by lengthy and conceptual聽Section B made the exam a marathon that rewarded those who kept moving.聽
• Students who had used past papers to scaffold their approach to the subject will have found lots of chances to gain valuable marks. But a few twists towards the end of questions will have pushed them into more abstracted reappraisals.

Opening the exam to Section A, students will have been able to gather some momentum in the short questions. Many of the prompts told them which method to use in approaching the problems and so this will have been a helpful prelude to the paper. Question 1 was a standard algebra which will have put everyone in familiar territory. The Financial Maths in Question 2 was drawn from the vault, harkening back to the style of questions asked at the beginning of Project Maths. Questions 3 and 4 on Integration and Complex Numbers respectively were accessible but the latter had a twist into simultaneous equations that will have seen the difficulty begin to increase. This will have been soothed slightly by Question 5 which called back to material often covered at the beginning of 5th Year. Question 6 was on a more difficult aspect of induction and its part B on factorials might have caught out those expecting to see it on Paper 2. Students only needed five of the six, so will have had ways to gather their marks in the first 50% of the paper. 

Moving into Section B, many will have felt the momentum begin to slow as the questions were much wordier and more conceptual. Students might need to read multiple framing sentences before being able to launch into the mathematics of the problem. A reoccurring motif of this section was calculus which made an appearance on three of the four questions. Students who were confident with this topic will have found their skills thoroughly examined. It is at this point in the exam that some students might begin to feel overwhelmed and lose confidence. Some questions were marathons with nine parts, so students will have just had to keep moving forward to get through them. As a result many will feel tired and a little uncertain as the emerge out of their centres as the challenge of the final stretch looms large in their memory. 

Yet it is really important to remember that the challenge of the paper is always reflected in the marking. The distribution of marks will mean that the scaling challenge will be reflected in the results. With papers like this it is easy to let the moments of challenge overshadow other successes, of which there were plenty for the prepared student.

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• More familiar questions with the proportion of聽innovative,聽challenging聽and聽conceptual questions聽scaled聽back.

Students entering today鈥檚 exam will have been anxious after Friday鈥檚 paper but will leave feeling that they performed better. They were not given a free ride as most questions involved some sting, and not always in the tail. 

The first questions of Section A will have given students a reassuring start on some steady, familiar ground allowing them to gather important marks early on. The challenge starts to increase around Question 4, whose difficulty is not apparent at first glance and will only reveal its sting once students have gotten into it. This became a trend for other questions too as the familiar starts gave way to novel challenges.  

Moving into Section B, Question 7 was on trigonometry, the predominant topic of Paper 2. While the introductory sections were approachable, the move into counting techniques in the final stretch will have pushed students鈥� comfort zones. The single most approachable question in this section was Question 8, a mix of correlation with minor elements of trig and probability. No matter which three questions out of four a student chose, at least two will have had a tricky bit. The challenges themselves where not minor but in the scheme of the exam as a whole they constituted a minor portion. This is perhaps most notable in the Questions 9 and 10. The former begins with a reassuringly structured task but ramps up to the trapezoidal rule in a manner that will catch many out. Similarly Question 10鈥檚 (a) and (b) parts will be familiar but (c) novel and one of the least approachable questions on the paper. But in spite of these, students鈥� reactions to the Section B questions will likely have been favourable both now and on reflection. 

Students will feel better about this paper when compared to Paper 1 but that does not diminish the reality of the challenges presented here.

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• The ethos of this paper was to let student engage with their lives through a mathematical lens. It was less about doing maths and more about using the maths.

A fair, modern and thoughtfully designed paper that rewarded understanding over memorisation. In this case 鈥渇air鈥� means that many students will have initially found the contexts unfamiliar but those that stayed, sat there, stayed calm and used their maths will have found themselves rewarded.

The paper feels like a bridge between project maths and the upcoming Leaving Cert. reforms with an emphasis on modelling, reasoning and real-life problem-solving. While some scenarios seemed novel the maths were short, snappy, without lengthy procedural problems. In Section B students could see glimpses of their own lives in as the exam reached into varied contexts. There was a question that used gaming as a way to examine a mixture of line and circle, appearing together for the first time as a long question. This blending of topics was a theme throughout, so students needed to move naturally between topics in every question. Elsewhere a question on a reality TV show contest mixed trig, sectors and the trapezoidal rule while statistics was covered via the guise of music festivals. Student needed to follow the story to find the maths. And of course very little geometry will be something that students will love.

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• Open-ended essay questions will have students smiling
• The aural starts with familiar vocabulary from recognisable scenarios by gets more challenging in the final stretch

Paper 1 starts with An Chluastuiscint (the aural) and students usually deem this the most challenging part of the exam. However those who had religiously practiced the past listening tests will find a lot of very familiar vocabulary as the examiner reimagines scenarios from previous years. Those familiar with their numbers, months and names will be able to pick out the pertinent answers across the different pieces and dialects. As is typical, the challenge level increases in Cuid B and Cuid C. Some will have been thrown by 鈥溍achas鈥� (insurance) and so struggled to cover every answer. That being said there were lots of places to gather marks as students were able to attempt everything. 

The last part of the exam is the compositions and students will have been very happy with the selection on offer. This section is worth 100 marks, 1/6th of the whole grade and so this section can dictate the real challenge of the paper. Most students gravitate towards to the aiste topics and been glad to see that the predicted topic of Irish and Irish culture appeared. Some might initially be surprised by the absence of overt prompts on anticipated areas like education, housing or health care. But those who could decipher 鈥渁 chuireann isteach ar鈥� as 鈥渁nnoy鈥� will find a wonderfully open-ended question on modern irritants that gave them a platform to air their grievances and show their preparedness. Other titles took a much more focused stance as (c) and (d) tasked student to contextualise an issue within an international scope. Prompt (d) on climate change was a surprise as the environment appeared on last year鈥檚 paper and some will have thought the sizable overlap might rule it out from today鈥檚 exam. The final aiste on 鈥淪谩bh谩ilteacht ar l脥ne鈥� (safety online) will have tested students with its more limited approach to the topic of tech. But ultimately they only needed one title that suits them and so there really was something for everyone here. 

While the aiste titles tend to be more popular than the sc茅al, those looking to write a short story will have found ample opportunities for creativity with prompt relating to 鈥渕eas鈥� (respect) and how travel inspires stories. The debate and speech prompts will have suited many in their topics but been potentially limiting in the need to take a definite proposition or opposition stance. The debate on 鈥渆verybody is treated fairly in Ireland today鈥� will allow students to reuse material planned for other areas (again education, housing and health care can be applied) but the framework of the debate is more limiting than the aiste on annoyances. The speech on the importance of hobbies for young people will have struck a chord with many who can dig into their own experiences. 

Overall, this paper had something for聽everyone聽and students should leave the exam content that they could attest to the聽hard work聽they did in the run up to the paper.

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• Students will be smiling聽from聽prose and poetry questions that reward their revision in the lead up to the exam.聽
• The unseen elements of the exam were聽more聽challenging than previous years and students will have been pushed with unfamiliar vocabulary.聽

Upon receiving their exam scripts, many students flip to the prose and poetry section to see if their predictions came true. Most will breathe a quick sigh of relief as anticipated pieces appeared. But with timing a big factor in the Paper 2 they will need to have quickly jumped into the comprehensions and got moving through the sections in order to earn the top marks. 

The first l茅amhthuiscint text followed the SEC鈥檚 common practice of including a topical person of significance, in this case the recently deceased Sr. Stan. While many people nationally may have been aware of her work, for many teenagers some of the vocabulary might have been less familiar. A good example of this is in the title as not everyone might recognise 鈥淪i煤r鈥� meaning 鈥淪ister鈥� in the religious context. The first five questions were the typical extraction tasks for comprehensions, which students should be able to find material for with a little careful digging. However the final questions require students to use their own vocabulary to discuss how Sr. Stan was 鈥渁g cabhr煤鈥� (helping) various groups. This will have pushed students as they needed to avoid simply reiterating details from the text. A similar pattern is found in the questions on the B text about fast fashion. Again they could be word for word in their responses to the first five, but the final question asked whether students were 鈥渄贸chasach鈥� (hopeful) for the decline of fast fashion in the future. This required another layer of understanding and a much more lateral approach to the given material. In an exam where students must race the clock to cover everything, this challenging section might have slowed some of their momentum early on and pushed them to make up time elsewhere. 

Emerging into the Ceist 2: Pr贸s, the appearance of 颁谩肠补&苍产蝉辫;惭颈濒颈蝉 and 顿铆蝉 will have been a relief. These were highly anticipated and the accompanied by questions reminiscent of past papers. The question on what type of person Catherine is was very typical, but students will have needed to note that 鈥渁gus鈥� in the question to ensure that both the mother and the blind man are adequately discussed for full marks. The 顿铆蝉 question was very nice if the student knew that 鈥渄earcadh鈥� meant 鈥渙utlook鈥�. Stronger students will have recognised it and used all their prepared material but some might have wavered and opted for 颁谩肠补&苍产蝉辫;惭颈濒颈蝉 instead. 

The poetry section started with 鈥淎n tEarrach Thiar鈥� which was complemented by questions that were almost word for word from previous years. Students were asked about the use of imagery and repetition to test their aesthetic understanding while the final question on the author鈥檚 life and work s will have allowed them to practically recite from memory. Alternatively students could opt for 鈥淢o ghr谩-sa鈥�, which hasn鈥檛 appeared since 2023. Again the questions balanced the technical (nature imagery and bracket usage) with a cultural appreciation of the poet. Students will have been very happy to be on such familiar footing here as they will have been able to show off their level of preparedness fairly. 

The difficulty level increases again in the final stretch, Litr铆ocht Bhreise. Most students around the country will go for either An Triail, A Thig N谩 Tit Orm or Gafa. The latter two options were very typical questions, but An Triail鈥檚 will have caused some to pause. They should all recognise 鈥渇ulaing铆onn鈥� as 鈥渟uffering鈥� (a key motif of the text) but this was asked through the specific lens of the social setting鈥檚 rules. Most will have anticipated a relationships-based question and some will have been thrown. However, even if a student was unsure exactly how to approach this question, material on relationships between the male and female characters will still garner marks as such interactions reiterate the societal rules.  

Overall, students will leave the exam with somewhat mixed feelings. The areas that they had the chance to directly prepare for will have been a high point, but the unseen elements of the comprehensions will have posed challenges to both their vocabulary and their timing.

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