Reaction to 2025 Leaving Certificate Geography (Higher Level) by Michael Doran, Geography teacher at The Institute of Education.
- Students will be relieved by the appearance of anticipated topics like deposition and human impact on biomes.
- Every section contained challenges that would test a student’s grasp of the full range of the course.
For many students sitting the Geography exam this morning the first page they will have read wasn’t page one, but page 18 – as they anxiously flipped to the Geoecology question to see if their long hours of effort will have paid off. A wave of relief will also have washed across many upon seeing the appearance of human impact on biomes question there. This appearance was rightly predicted by many and will have given them a solid foundation of confidence to go forward. This would have set the tone for the 2hrs 50minutes of writing that lay ahead. It was not necessarily an easy paper, but prepared students will have felt able to tackle the challenges.
Looking at short questions of Part 1, students will be happy to see a good spread of topics: basic map reading skills, physical geography, graph reading. All things that wouldn’t shock them and all asked in a style reflective of past papers. Of course, students would need to adapt as the particular maps, photographs and charts might not have appeared before, but the examined skills were consistent with what they would have practiced in preparation for today. Naturally there were challenging parts in this section too, as many students might simply not know the “deranged drainage pattern”. Yet with only the best 10 out of 12 being counted, most will be happy that they will have covered enough.
Part 2’s questions on Physical Geography will have been a comfort to most students. Popular topics like landform formation appeared and those who anticipated the appearance of deposition rather than erosion will have been delighted. Yet there was balance between the questions too, and in each area there was a more challenging topic that would really push the students. For example, the question on Folding and Faulting hasn’t come up in years and so might have been lower in a student’s priorities when revising. Similarly, 2C’s mention of Isotasy required students to write on a concept that many struggle to fully grasp.
Those who planned to answer on Regional Geography will be happy with the options on offer. The elective on Human Environment is popular with many students around the country, so many will be happy with the appearance of Central Place Theory. It can be a difficult concept, but many will have put in the hard work to really digest it, so they should feel their efforts vindicated.
This was a paper that fairly balanced popular topics with challenging questions. Everybody will have something to like here, but only students who have really delved into every nook of the course will but fully at ease with it.