An account of the life of Julius Caesar kept students busy on a lengthy Junior Cert classical studies paper yesterday.

“The period they were asked to cover was very long. Caesar himself wrote two books to cover it,” said Jim O’Dea, a teacher at Rathdown School in Glenageary.

More than 700 students sat this paper, which otherwise contained “nothing untoward”. There was a welcome question on Greek architecture that tasked students to draw their observations rather than write them down.

Yesterday’s Latin paper, with a predicted 355 sits, contained an engaging question on Daedalus making wings for his son Icarus.

More difficult
A question on hypocaust (the system of heating in Roman baths) was considered more difficult than usual.

Yesterday's afternoon exam for Junior Certs was Italian which was described as "an excellent, student-friendly paper" by ASTI subject representative Robbie Cronin.

Five hundred and sixty five students took the exam, while 30 students took Greek in the last day of exams for the Junior Certs this year.