This year’s English paper 2, traditionally an exam where students “need every minute”, offered plenty to ruminate on, including a surprise or two, such as the absence of a poet hotly tipped to appear.

Thousands of students began their Leaving Certificate and Junior Cycle exams yesterday. Teachers praised Leaving Cert English paper one as a “lovely” exam, while there were no surprises within the ...

Leaving Cert English paper two was overall viewed as “manageable” as poets Paula Meehan and Elizabeth Bishop both appeared. Siobhán O’Donovan, a teacher at the Patrician Academy in Co Cork, said ...