Reaction to Leaving Certificate 2026 Home Economics by Alice Quinn, Home Economics teacher at The Institute of Education.
- Students who focused on covering the syllabus will find the paper very approachable but those who tried to streamline their work based on past papers will find themselves pigeon-holed.
Sitting into their afternoon exam, students will have opened Section A and been pleased with a very food focused array of questions. The first eight questions mainly approached the topic from the perspective of nutrients, which narrowed the focus a little but ultimately was very fair in what was asked. The later stages of the section were broader but nicely asked. The students were examined on topics ranging from Housing Development to Pensions to Microwaves. For those who had drilled short questions as part of their exam preparation there was nothing here that would startle them. The Home Economics exam is a race against the clock and students will be glad there was nothing in this section that could break their momentum.
Emerging into Section B some might stumble over the new verbiage of the questions. Previous papers were consistent in their use of “comment and elaborate” but this was replaced by “compare and evaluate”. While a strong student would recognise these as functionally the same and not break stride, some of the more anxious students might have a moment of pause. That being said, everyone will have been delighted by the appearance of Protein as the compulsory question. Last asked in 2020 and before that 2014, this is the first time in a decade that students will have seen this topic in the exam hall. The way it was examined was more accessible with less emphasis on the chemical aspects. “Protein” seems to be plastered on everything, so it was a topical choice by the exam setter, but students still needed to know the material to ensure that terms like “deamination” are adequately covered.
Students will be happy with the appearance of Vegetables in Question 2 but Part C took a different spin on the topic and asked about spoilage rather than preservation. Question 3 was also very topical as it explored issues surrounding Ultra Processed Foods. The question’s approach was very balanced and invited students to explore the pros and cons involved while also giving them lots of scope to draw together aspects of the course. Question 4 was another long-awaited return, this time for Budgeting whose last appearance was in 2019. Students might be disappointed to not be asked to provide a budget though. The question on changes in consumer shopping was reminiscent of the 2024 paper, so those who hadn’t delved as deep into the exam archives will still recognise parts.
The Elective questions in Section C will see many students going straight to Elective 4 (Core) as this allows them to reaffirm the value of the revision they did for the earlier sections. However some will have been upset to see Core 3 appear in Part C. This part of the course has never appeared on a June exam paper and only once in a deferred paper. The question was very workable, as was the other option for Part B, but required students to put more faith in knowing the course and making educated guesses.
Ultimately, those who focused on covering the syllabus will have found themselves content with the paper. Those who tried to think just in terms of the patterns of previous papers will find themselves stretched to search the corners of their memories.