• Students will have found the topics of the paper appealing, relevant and reminiscent of material prepared for the oral.
• A very manageable paper for everyone but with a few nuances that will make the top scorers stand out.

Written:

The appearance of Bad Bunny and Hurling in Argentina will have been welcomed by students, both as a welcome contrast to the sometimes sombre topics of previous years and an appealing reflection of their interests. Students generally prepare how to discuss their hobbies for the oral and the appearance of music and sports as central topics would place them in recognizable territory. Going into the exams students often worry over the topics for the opinion piece in Section B Question 5 but they were relieved to see 鈥渟port is important for everyone鈥�: a brilliantly open prompt that allows students to reflect their level with the language as they were free to explore anything from friendships or health values with varying degrees of fluency.

This really was a paper that reflected the vary degrees of fluency within the student body. The paper was accessible to everyone but the presence of some specific vocabulary and idiomatic elements will only be approachable to those capable of the top grades. For example, Section A Question 2 (A) requires students to know what a 鈥渕ulta鈥� is. It is a fine, which makes sense in the context of parking spaces, but as it lacks a clear English cognate it tested the breadth of their distinctly Spanish vocabulary. Later students needed to be mindful of details to ensure that they could describe the city of Cuenca in full. Upon reading 鈥渃alles estrechas鈥� all students should note the street but not all will grasp the specification of 鈥渘arrow streets鈥�, thus obtaining full marks.

Later in Section B students were asked about how the Hurling club in Buenos Aires show their Irish Identity. Most students could guess that 鈥渄铆a de San Patricio鈥� is St. Patrick鈥檚 Day and have the vocabulary to know that 鈥渃amiseta es verde鈥� means green jerseys but to fully get the marks they need to know what 鈥渃on el escudo del tr茅bol鈥� meant. Not everyone will know how to say 鈥渨ith a shamrock crest鈥� and so again we see nuance as a method of distinguishing the grade tiers. This trend continued into Section B鈥檚 synonym question, which mixed the familiar with the more unusual. Students relying on the grammar to navigate the gaps in vocabulary might stumble on 鈥減orvenir鈥� which looks an infinitive verb but is actually a noun.

An appealing letter prompt in Section C will likely tempt students away from the translation, which is normally more popular. The topic of travelling in Ireland allowed them to draw upon well-established vocabulary. On the other hand, the translation required a keener awareness of the idiomatic construction of Spanish such that students could not just replace English words with their Spanish counterparts. For example, translating the phrase 鈥渟he is right鈥� requires students to recognise that they should not use the Spanish verb for 鈥渢o be鈥� but 鈥渢o have鈥� instead. These little touches would challenge the many as the exam seeks to subtle opportunities for distinction.

The final composition selection between the Diary or Note will have the students feeling like they a good, viable choice that allowed them to play to their strengths. The Diary on returning home from a year in Salamanca gave them lots of scopes to select their mood and talking points. The Note was less permissive in its vocabulary choice but what was demanded would be very familiar. There were a few tricky grammatical manoeuvres, but that ultimately makes this paper a fair reflection of a student鈥檚 level.

Aural:

Moving into the aural, the students were greeted by the most challenging part of the exam. While the material was spoken at a well-measured pace, students needed to carefully listen to catch every aspect of what was being said. The majority of the questions required students to 鈥済ive full details鈥�, with 鈥渇ull鈥� in bold acting as a warning that the answers had multiple parts. Students needed to write down everything they heard, not just key words. For example, a question asking 鈥渨hat is characteristic about Colonia?鈥� could only fully be answered with architecture of low-rise buildings and cobblestone streets. 鈥淎rchitecture鈥� and 鈥渟treets鈥� will have jumped out as clear answers, but the inclusion of those adjectives will determine who gets full marks. Elsewhere 鈥渇ull details鈥� meant that the weather was 鈥渇rosty with hail in mountain regions鈥� and that Antonio discovered 鈥渂oxes of money inside the walls鈥� when he began work on the house. Each answer contains an ear-catching familiar phrase accompanied by easily overlooked context.听听

The challenge of this section of the exam was keeping track of each element of the sentence rather than just navigating familiar phrases, so some students will have found this portion tough.听

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• Some questions鈥� barks were worse than their bite as students were met with novel information.
• Manageable questions on familiar material meant that once students got over the initial shock of the questions there were lots of opportunities for morale boosting little victories.听

This paper will have felt tough, as students had to grapple with some daunting first impressions. But the memory of those challenges will likely linger and obscure the fact that those students who kept a broad scope to their revision will have lots of opportunities for marks. If students tried to be too narrow, selective or strategic in their revision they have found few places to hide as the questions ranged over the wide span of all the major course topics.听

Question 1 was a tough introduction to the paper. As an image identification question students will be familiar with the question type, but this examined specific equipment. Many students may recognise these pieces as things mentioned as they went through the course, but there is no definitive list of equipment to know. It was not something that students could single out and practice. With so much choice they did not need to answer it, but many will remember that negative as it tints their impressions going forward. Disquieting first impressions were a motif that permeated the paper. Question 2 (B) was a nice evaluation and communication question with a novel introduction. In a stressful exam scenario students could be easily spooked, but the text acted as a useful primer that led you into the topic. Again, very doable but still a little daunting.听

Section 1 also had three major surprises in enterprise, experiments and extent. The first was the absence of the reoccurring 鈥渋n a named enterprise鈥� question where students could pick an activity and methodically progress through its elements. Enterprises were present but in a fractured and specific matter that narrowed the focus of requested material. Surprisingly there were no experiments in this section when typically a whole page would be given to them. Finally Question 3 (B) removed the support scaffolding of how to respond by allotting a full page to an answer box without any subdivisions. This meant that students had little indication of the quantity of information demanded for full marks. The material 飞补蝉苍鈥檛 difficult but knowing how to best present it in the exam was. In many ways this exam鈥檚 challenge lay in the student鈥檚 still with exams, not just the course.听

In balance to this, it is important to remember that there were lots of nice, accessible and fair questions. Throughout the whole paper the calculations were straightforward. The table in Question 9 would be a direct echo of what students had in their revision notes. The novel ideas or framing of the question were mostly red herrings that masked a familiar task. Some students might have baulked at the unfamiliar term 鈥渁groforestry鈥� but after a pause, a deep breath and scan of what was being asked many will feel satisfied that they managed to see the wood for the trees and claim their marks.听

Section B was reassuringly typical with clearer questions. Grass, sileage, beef, soil and the feeding of young animals all made appearances in a manner that will suit the well-prepared student. What was notable was a few absences: little tillage, seeding and only a passing pictorial reference to pigs.听

This is a paper that many students will be happy with once given the time to reflect but many will have felt the process of doing the paper to be more taxing than expected. Well-prepared students who could adapt to the questions should feel themselves rewarded with a trove of little victories.听

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• A daunting looking paper at first glance, but once broken up and carefully read, it was manageable.
• Students are likely to leave the hall feeling uncertain and second-guessing their performance, however the marking schemes are forgiving.

This was a large paper with lots to cover and lots of choice. However, students looking to simply copy-paste answers from previous exams will find themselves frustrated and confused by questions that require a more logical approach.

Section A is 12 short questions but choice within questions makes it functionally 16. While students only needed to answer 10, many will have found themselves making quick assessments of pages worth of material. Questions 6, 7, 8, 11, and 12 were all standard affair and familiar in material and demands. However, every other question had some twist or challenge that would have caused a moment of pause. The first four questions seemed unwelcoming, and some might have found themselves sent into a brief tailspin. This was due to unfamiliar bull identification, naming a plant that is not normally covered or indeed having to unite a shared element from separate units of the course. In the latter, no students would have studied calcium as a standalone topic, so this question required them to filter through the syllabus for distinct topics, potentially revised weeks apart. Question 10 A(ii) asked about the role of micro-organisms in the monogastric digestive system when the much more expected and pertinent question would be on the ruminant digestive system. Some students may have ignored 鈥渕onogastric鈥� and answered the question that made the most sense. The paper was not as balanced as previous years, with animal reproduction appearing in a third of Section A questions; a section which will leave those relying on crops feeling shortchanged. Indeed, many will have expected to see experiments appear in this section, as that is what has happened in previous years, but none did.

Many students were likely apprehensive as they entered Part B, typically the harder section. However, they were greeted by a nicer range of questions than is usual. Questions 13, 14, 15 would have neatly fallen into the prepared material, even though Q16鈥檚 partial choice structure was rather bizarre. Question 16 was a topical question on Climate Change but did include a request from them to draw the carbon cycle. Again, the questions appeared more awkward than they really were, however the prepared student would have been able to navigate them.

As they leave the exam hall, many students might struggle to assess their own performances. This paper did not allow for a seamless glide through recognisable questions. In the end, it is important to remember that the marking schemes are forgiving, seeking valid answers. A focused, logical effort to approach the questions will likely carry more weight than a student might intuitively feel.

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