Paper I

Leaving Cert candidates sat their Higher Level paper I this morning (almost all at SCC sit it at this level). It was a straightforward and accessible paper on the theme 'Decisions'. The three comprehension texts were varied and more interesting than normal - an Irish Times 'for' and 'against' piece on zoos, an extract from the Australian writer David Malouf's short story 'The Valley of Lagoons' (it's set in Northern Australia in the 1960s and is from his collection Every Move You Make), and four beautiful photographs by the great French photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson, with accompanying text from this essay by Frank van Riper.

The composing options also offered plenty of scope: an article on 'your experience of education'; an opinion piece on indecision; a short story in which the central character faces an important decision; a persuasive essay on science and technology; an article about respected public figures; a personal essay on daydreams (a pretty popular choice); and a short story based on one of the Cartier-Bresson photos.