JUNIOR CERTIFICATE/Science: Teachers have warned that Wednesday's "disastrous" biology paper will deter Junior Cert students from choosing science subjects next year.

Speaking after yesterday's Junior Cert science exam Mr Ray McGough, TUI science representative teaching in Maghene College, Bundoran, said Junior Cert students were already being turned off biology.

"After the Leaving Cert biology students came out and literally threw their rental books back on the table. This penetrates down to the younger ones, who will see biology as a very hard subject."

The older students so disheartened by the biology exam will actively discourage their younger peers from choosing the subject, he said. "They'll tell them to do home economics or business instead."

Mr McGough predicts that this will have a disastrous effect not only on the uptake of biology, but also on chemistry and biology where the numbers are seriously dwindling.

Mr Gerry King TUI representative in Davitt College Castlebar, also thought that biology was now in peril. "It's bound to effect the Junior Cert students. That biology paper just didn't reward a hard years work."

Skoool.ie science expert Mr Joe Reville found Junior Cert science a relief after the Leaving Cert troubles."Overall it was a very nice exam in stark contrast to the previous day's higher biology exam at Leaving Cert."

The higher level paper was well liked by candidates he said. "The content of the paper was excellent giving a good and fair test. Most of the questions were from past papers there were no surprises."

The physics presented no problems and the chemistry overlapped with the ordinary level paper. The biology was also very fair he said. While Mr McGough agreed that most of the paper was fine he thought the chemistry questions in Section C a little bit difficult.

"The Junior Cert Syllabus has had a problem in that the chemistry is too difficult and students have to learn reams of equations," he said. Both chemistry questions required the student to produce a balanced equation, which, McGough said, is unnecessarily difficult. "What is needed is nice little experiments to encourage them not balanced equations."

Meanwhile the technical drawing papers were described as fair and relatively predictable by Mr Pat O'Dwyer of the Vocational School in Kenmare, Co Kerry. He said the absence of the "line of intersection" question upset some students.