At ordinary level, ‘questions gave candidates plenty of opportunities to demonstrate their knowledge’Tristan Beresford, Jasper Lavin, Meadhbh Malone and Julia Maher at Belmayne Educate Together Secondary School. Photograph: Fran Veale Peter McGuireFri Jun 05 2026 - 13:34 • 3 MIN READStudents sitting the Leaving Certificate geography exams were happy with a paper that rewarded preparation while avoiding unexpected questions, teachers have said.Margaret Fitzpatrick, ASTI subject representative and a teacher at Midleton CBS Secondary School, said that the paper should be praised, as it was fair and very balanced. “The questions had predictable structures and students would have been familiar with the phrasing,” she said. “All the short questions were in line with previous years, and no major surprises.”All Leaving Cert exam papers should pose some questions to differentiate the H1 student from their classmates. In this year’s paper, that challenge came in the human geography elective. “Undoubtedly, the human geography elective section was the only section of the paper that may have caused some difficulty for some students,” said Dan Sheedy, principal of TheTuitionCentre.ie.Stephen Doyle, expert reviewer for Studyclix.ie and a geography teacher at Moyle Park College, agreed that some questions in this section were more specific than in previous years.Mapwork, aerial photographs and graphs featured prominently throughout part one of the paper, which was consistent with previous years. Doyle said that students may have been caught off guard by a question asking about the formation of sedimentary and metamorphic rocks, as many had focused their revision on igneous and metamorphic rocks. The physical geography section, however, delivered on widely-anticipated topics.“Expected topics such as karst landscapes, erosion, constructive plate boundaries and human interaction with surface processes all appeared,” said Doyle. “The weathering question was quite specific, focusing on the role of temperature in physical weathering, and may have challenged some students.”Sheedy said that many candidates will have turned immediately to the optional geoecology section upon receiving the paper. “They will have been pleased to find questions on the characteristics of a biome and the impact of human activity on soils,” he said.The regional and economic geography sections covered familiar ground across Irish, European and continental regions. “Topics such as cultural regions and a 20-mark question on the European Union and Eurozone were also highly accessible and are unlikely to have posed significant difficulties,” said Sheedy. “The EU theme continued into the economic geography elective, where reliable and familiar topics such as multinational corporations appeared. While this section was perhaps slightly more demanding than in previous years, students were still presented with questions they could approach confidently. In the short questions, a question on isostasy stood out as a more demanding inclusion. It was an excellent, albeit challenging, question, but it added an extra layer of depth to this section.”Overall, all three teachers offered a positive verdict. “Students are likely to have left the examination feeling very pleased with both the content and structure of the paper,” said Sheedy.Doyle agreed, saying the exam “provided plenty of opportunities to demonstrate both their geographical knowledge and skills, while containing very few major surprises.”At ordinary level, the picture was similarly positive. “The questions were accessible, covered familiar topics and gave candidates plenty of opportunities to demonstrate their knowledge,” said Doyle. “Overall, it was a fair and manageable paper.”TRY THIS ONE AT HOME: Leaving Cert Geography, Higher Level8B. Economic DevelopmentDiscuss how Gross National Product (GNP) and the Human Development Index (HDI) can be used as a measure of economic development, with reference to example(s) that you have studied. [30 marks]IN THIS SECTION