Leaving Cert Diary 2025: Maths Paper 1 and Geography finish the first week

In this entry to our Leaving Cert Diary we look back on Maths Paper 1 and Geography. The first week is done! Make sure to rest and relax this weekend.
Thanks to Kayleigh from Athlone, Co Westmeath and Sarah from Co Louth who are back to write about Maths Ordinary and Higher Level respectively. And to Laura from Galway who sat Geogrpahy earlier in the day.
The Leaving Cert Diary series, with thanks to our friends at the Irish Second-Level Student's Union (ISSU), is all about getting a first-hand account of how the exams went each day.
Read Kayleigh's blog...
The weather might not be the usual Leaving Cert sun but if the papers keep giving us something to be happy over I think that's a trade I'm willing to take. Another lovely paper from the SEC, I'm almost worried there's going to be a catch on Paper 2!
Leaving Cert 2025 has the same accommodations as last year with six 30-mark questions on part A, where you needed to answer five, and four 50-markers, where you needed to answer three. Maths Paper 1 was entirely predictable and certainly provided me and many other students with a lot of security. I am glad to have been able to answer every question and given myself the best chance at good marks.
There were no particularly challenging questions or overly complex wordings in the problems either. Financial maths was the bulk of the questions with series and sequences, algebraic functions, complex numbers, calculus, scientific notation, length area and volume all making their appearances too. There were a lot of tables and graphs featured on the paper that certainly gave students plenty of chances to pick up easy marks.
I am certainly relieved for week one to be over and to have another exam out of the way. I think we're all ready for a little rest from the exhausting cycle of paper after paper this weekend; but not without some cramming thrown in. If the SEC continues to be nice to us I'm sure the rest of the exams will fly just the same as this week has. Fingers crossed!
Sarah's blog kicks off with a maths pun...
Unfortunately the only pie I saw in Maths Paper 1 was two dimensional and inedible. On the better side of Section A, algebra was an enjoyable question one. It gave me the confidence to begin the paper. Integration was nice and simple and even if someone was uncomfortable with this topic they would have gotten a lot of marks from attempting using the log tables provided.
As well as that, logs and indices sneaked into a good few questions. De Moivre's Theorem and the binomial theorem were through the entire paper as a constant. Those who were not familiar with it, might have had no choice but to leave a lot of gaps blank. I luckily spent my morning trying to revise this topic. I attempted all questions for section A. I got the minimum done for section B with 3 questions answered.
Proof by induction at the end stunned me for a few minutes. I was quite confused with the wording and began with some of the steps to help me get my focus back but failed to come up with a conclusion. Many other people I had talked to, found this part challenging. I wonder will the points be reduced for it? On the positive side, sequences and series was a welcoming question In section B but I found myself skipping the rates of change. I got just about three out of the four questions done when the time ran out.
Overall it was a tough paper but there were many chances for every student toshine. Now I have to throw this out of my mind and prepare for the second round. See you Monday!
Read Laura's blog here...
The Geography Leaving Cert exam is finally over, and honestly, it's caused a lot of mixed feelings among students and teachers alike. I found the short questions quite fair, there was a good variety, and nothing too tricky. But it was the essay section where things really changed.
Physical Geography was more or less what we expected, although I was surprised not to see the formation of metamorphic rocks essay, which had been heavily predicted. Still, that section felt manageable.
The real curveball came in Regional Geography. Almost none of the predicted essays came up, and like many students, I felt completely thrown off. My confidence dropped halfway through the paper because I felt like everything I had focused on just didn't show up.
The 20-mark questions were as expected, and weirdly enough, you could skip the sketch map portion almost entirely which is unusual. In Section Four, I answered the Geoecology question. Luckily, it followed some predictions, but a lot of people were expecting a question on brown earth soils, which didn't appear either.
It honestly felt like the paper was made to ignore predictions maybe because the course is going through changes. I know predictions aren't everything, but the total lack of overlap this year really shocked a lot of us.
In the end, it wasn't the hardest paper ever, but it was unpredictable, and that made it stressful. Now it's time to move on, take a breath, and face into the next exams with a fresh mind.
Founded in 2008, the ISSU is the national representative body for school students in the Republic of Ireland. The ISSU is led by students, for students.

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

Irish Examiner

11 hours ago

• Irish Examiner

There's history in the walls of €950k Lisnakilla House near Kinsale

AFTER at least two rounds of building on and building up, there's only faint traces left of the original 100 year old farmhouse here at Lisnacrilla, outside Belgooly on back roads to Kinsale via Brownsmills : What's here now is a sizeable updated and B2 BER-hitting family home on mature gardens of 0.6 of an acre. Now upgraded too to call itself Lisnacrilla House, the detached build has been home to a family for 21 years, having originally purchased a c 185 sq ft modernised home in 2004, when they changed the kitchen, and built a detached and insulated double garage with first floor office and gym: since, they did yet further considerable upgrades and a further extension in 2009 as their family started to expand. Today, one of the surviving 'memories' of the original farmhouse which started day one on this spot is the exposed stone wall in a utility room, contrasting with more modern finishes and creature comforts. Exposed stone speaks of history Now, under its very varied roof line showing the home's evolution in stages, Lisnacrilla houses two working professionals and three teenaged children, with one just through Leaving Cert and college bound. As they enter that life chapter, and facing an emptying nest over the next few years, they've proactively decided to sell …not a bad call as the market currently is so strong, not only in and around Kinsale but nationwide. Rural setting Their home is less than 5kms from Kinsale and just over 20 kms from Cork City and airport, with rural views, anchored with mature trees, while they draw on marine metaphors to explain their move, saying 'we feel it's time to trim the mainsail — to make adjustments that reflect our next phase of life. Lisnacrilla has served as a steadfast vessel through changing tides, and now it's ready to welcome new custodians to continue its story.' It's launched with agent Lawrence Sweeney of Savills who gives a €950,000 guide, so it's pitched into a Kinsale price bracket at that: he says the result of his vendors' labours is 'a stunning fusion of timeless charm and contemporary design, with spacious, light-filled accommodation and luxurious finishes throughout.' It has up to six bedrooms, one at ground level with en suite or optional home office, and the first floor has five off a galleried landing, with three en suites plus main bathroom, with water heated by solar power, helping get the property's B2 BER. At ground are two reception rooms, one at either end and one open to a gable sun room, whilst there's a casual dining room/family room off the Stylecraft-fitted kitchen with deep twin ceramic sinks and black granite tops plus island. This linked area has a powerful 18kw wood-burning Charnwood stove on a raised plinth with metro-style tiling behind and 'is the heart of the home, with panoramic countryside views,' comments Mr Sweeney. There's patio access to an outdoor entertaining area from here, as well as a large utility and pantry, a family den/TV room/home office, plus a reception/dining room with further solid fuel stove. Overall condition is very good, with some pine floors, doors, and ceilings 'of their time,' and a bonus is the substantial double garage with roller shutter door, power, and has two rooms in an overhead loft area, while access is via electric gates. VERDICT: Proximity to Kinsale may help draw attention to Lisnacrilla House.

Irish Times

4 days ago

• Irish Times

Leaving Cert accounting: A very fair paper - but time was a real issue for some students

The Leaving Cert accounting exam was a 'very manageable and fair paper' which will have pleased most students, according to John Taylor, accounting teacher at The Institute of Education. 'The only thing that would cause upset in the exam is if a student lost momentum by circling back in pursuit of minor errors and losing track of time,' he said. 'Yet at its core the exam reflected the skills students will have honed over the last two years and best suited students who had practised their accounting and past examination questions.' Mr Taylor said a real challenge facing candidates was not figuring out what the question wanted, but to deliver the result in the time. READ MORE 'At three hours the exam seems long, but every second must be assigned effectively,' he said. Leaving Cert accounting, higher level Section one In section one, students as usual had a choice between question one 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 question one were given two options and this year these related to the sole trader and company final accounts,' Mr Taylor said. Both question ones were straightforward and reflected similar questions asked in the past. 'The trial balance in both contained nothing unusual but students will have needed to read these carefully to spot key details like the rent received was only for eight months of the year or that part of the mortgage was only for seven months of the year in question one A and that in question one B the debenture interest paid included an element of the second debenture loan,' he said. 'There were the standard nine adjustments in both questions and these would all have been familiar to students, but again careful reading was needed to deal with: patents written off, goods in transit which included VAT, bad debts recovered and recoverable and an incorrect VAT entry in the suspense adjustment.' All of this would be familiar, Mr Taylor said, but the real test was to recognise and react under pressure. The three optional 60-mark questions consisted of revaluation, service firm accounts and control accounts. 'These questions did not contain any major surprises, were not overly long and students attempting this option would have been pleased,' he said. 'The theory element of all three questions in this section was straightforward and would have been asked before.' Section two In section two, students were required to complete two questions. The three questions in section two consisted of interpretation of accounts, which had been guaranteed, tabular statements and incomplete records. 'Again, most students will have been very pleased to see both of these topics appearing,' he said. 'The questions themselves were very nice and did not contain anything that students would have not seen and practised in previous years questions.' The ratios in question five were 'very straightforward', he said, and questions five (b) concerned the ordinary shareholders. 'Part (c) was a lovely question on gearing which most students would have found very manageable,' Mr Taylor said. Question six, on incomplete records, was anticipated and was a 'very fair question'. 'The purchase of land was included and consequently students would just need to be careful when calculating the depreciation on the premises', Mr Taylor said. 'Again, the theory element was straightforward relating to the explanation of net worth and the limitations of preparing accounts from incomplete records.' Question seven on tabular statements was a 'very typical question' and contained 'nothing that students would not have come across before in previous tabular statement questions'. Some months contained two transactions, Mr Taylor said, but these were clearly separated which should have aided students. 'May included a payment relating to 2023/2024 as well as the more traditional payment relating to 2024/2025, so again hopefully students noticed this and dealt with it appropriately,' he said. Leaving Cert accounting, ordinary level Section three In section three on management/cost accounting, students were required to attempt one question from costing and budgeting. Question eight, on marginal costing, was a 'very nice question and very doable within the time which reflected similar questions asked in the past'. 'Many students will have been delighted to see this question appear in such a traditional form,' he added. Question nine was a standard production budgeting question which would have pleased students. 'The theory element wasn't strenuous, asking students to explain principal budget factor and uncontrollable costs,' he said.

Irish Independent

6 days ago

• Irish Independent

The Indo Daily: Brian O'Driscoll and Amy Huberman Incorporated: The million-euro empire

Now, they're the faces of a €12 million brand machine, selling everything from luxury wine to grinds for Leaving Cert students. Their secret? A carefully curated public image, relentless hard work and a knack for commercial timing. Tabitha Monahan is joined on The Indo Daily by Irish Independent journalist John Meagher to trace how O'Driscoll and Huberman leveraged media savvy and turned it into market dominance. But fame has a shelf life. Can Brand BOD keep evolving before the public moves on?