Leaving Certificate Home Economics 2021
The higher-level Home Economics paper was a very manageable and topical paper that offered students a great variety of choice in the questions offered, especially with the amendments to the paper this year. The short questions served as a nice introduction to the paper and were very approachable overall. The compulsory long question was a little challenging at first glance as the chart given was slightly different to what may have been expected, but with careful consideration should have been manageable for most students. The rest of the question was clear and should have been straightforward as it examined contemporary trend in Irish eating patterns, iron and meal planning for families with irregular routines. The remaining questions in section B, of which one had to be answered covered eggs, HACCP, family management and the modern Irish family giving students a great choice and opportunity to show their knowledge.
In section C this year there was also additional choice with students able to opt for question 4 (Core Studies), this examined students on milk and gave the choice between answering on diabetes or consumer research. Some students may have been disappointed to see social studies was not included in this question as was anticipated by many but overall it was a very do-able question. The other popular choice of elective question was election 3 (social studies) again this was a very topical question touching on poverty, work and managing work life balance.
Over all students should be happy with the paper as it featured many of the anticipated topics with carbohydrates the only notable exception.
