Leaving Cert Business Exam: Largely Fair Paper With a Tough Compulsory Question

This year's higher-level Leaving Cert business paper was largely approachable and fair, offering students ample opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge, according to teachers. However, the compulsory applied business question (ABQ) presented a significant challenge.

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Students who regularly do past papers will be rewarded, and it was a good, balanced paper allowing students to display their knowledge.

Vincent Murray, an ASTI subject representative, stated that students who consistently worked through past papers would be rewarded. He characterized the paper as "good and balanced," allowing students to showcase their understanding. Yet, the ABQ, which focused on specific course areas like price discrimination and staff rewards with a mobile coffee van case study, was deemed "tricky."

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It addressed very specific areas of the course, such as price discrimination, rewarding staff and alternative sales promotion techniques. There was a case study on a mobile coffee van, and while this would be familiar, the questions themselves were tricky.

Keith Hannigan, a business teacher at the Institute of Education, echoed this sentiment, finding the ABQ tough. He noted that the paper deviated from the norm, especially in this compulsory section, amplifying any difficulties students encountered. Hannigan also pointed out an "unprecedented move" where topics from the previous year were repeated, such as human resources management and control, which he felt students wouldn't have expected.

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The paper deviated from the norm, particularly in the.

Naomi Keenan, a subject expert, agreed that diligent past paper revision was key. She found the short questions in section one predictable and accessible, providing baseline marks. Katie Jones, head of business at thetuitioncentre.ie, added that longer questions in section three followed a familiar structure, covering core syllabus areas like contract law, consumer protection, and international trade. Murray suggested that students who followed current events might have found an advantage in applying insights to certain questions, though some wording, particularly in contract law, posed a challenge.

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In an unprecedented move, topics questioned last year were repeated.