Leaving Cert 2025 Reaction: History was a tricky paper

RTÉ News​

11-06-2025

Here is reaction to 2025 Leaving Certificate History (Higher Level) by Stephen Tonge, History teacher at The Institute of Education - part of their Leaving Cert Analysis series.
Download the exam papers here:
Key points:
Questions with narrower focuses will require students to quickly edit and adjust their approach to topics.
The reappearance of topics from last year will have upset some.
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Opening Section 1's documents-based question many students will be pleased with the topic of The Jarrow March. While Document B was perhaps a little longer that you'd like for such a pressurised environment, the first three questions were very approachable. At question four, the challenge increases. Being asked to "argue your case" on the failure of the march is an unusually narrow focus and while students could easily approach it, it would tax them to write a fully robust answer in order to get the marks.
In Section 2: Ireland, many will have been drawn to "Topic 3: The pursuit of sovereignty and the impact of partition". This section seems designed to upset a reliance on sample answers - which while that is a fair ambition, makes it much harder for students to revise and navigate the vast course. The first question on the rise of Sinn Fein and the decline of Home Rule offers a range of relevant years but in practice was narrowly focused on 1916 to the election of 1918. The question on de Valera's leadership needed the combination of Civil War and World War II, which prioritises a key personality in a way that differs from previous approaches which emphasised contexts. While some would be happy with the cultural identity question, the inclusion of "North and South" makes it trickier to fully address.
The most surprising element of the paper was likely "Topic 5: Politics and Society in Northern Ireland, 1949-93". The questions themselves were not particularly difficult but 3 of the 4 questions returned to topics from last year's exam. In a curriculum as vast as History, students and teachers often must prioritize some elements over others, and the reappearance of questions on Lord Brookeborough and the Coleraine University Controversy will be an unpleasant surprise. If students had thoroughly prepared this case study, they would be fine, but many would not have anticipated a second outing for such comparatively minor elements of the topic.
Those who planned to write on "Europe and the Wider World Topic 6: The United States and the world, 1945-1989", will be relieved by the Lyndon Johnson question which many consider to be a banker when preparing. Additionally, the question on Berlin and Cuba would allow students good range to show their understanding. However, what stands out here is that only one case study appears (Vietnam). Earlier "Ireland Topic 6: The Republic of Ireland 1949-1989" had three case studies, so there is an imbalance in question selection. Indeed, the US Economy comprises roughly one third of that part of the course and is only tangentially related to one of the questions, while the much more niche power of religion in American life got a question to itself.
For students who really knew the material and are confident in their ability to adapt, edit and combine under pressure, this was a nice exam. However, many will have found themselves adjusting to narrower confines in question choice and demanded material. Definitely more taxing than they may have expected given previous exams.