Students of Gaelcholáiste an Chláir in Ennis are the stars of a new series on RTÉ Raidio na Gaeltachta which will be broadcast nationwide next week. It’s called Scrúdú Béil na hArdteiste, and it will provide a showcase of Oral Irish to aid students preparing for this years Leaving Certificate examination.

Five Gaelcholáiste students can be heard in the series, each one participating in four of the interviews. They are: Conal Ó hAiniféin, Sally Ní Mheadhra, Nicole Ní Chathasaigh, Áine Mhaoir and Alex Maguidhir. Teachers Íde Bhreathnach and Orla Ní Dhonncha worked to prepare them for the show.

Since 2012, the percentage of marks for the oral Irish exam has increased from 25% to 40%, and the exam itself has also changed significantly. The new oral exam includes a collection of picture sequences or comic strips, one of which is chosen by the examiner to form the basis of a conversation with the student.

Over the course of the four-part series, listeners will have the opportunity to hear each of the 20 prescribed picture sequences discussed in a mock interview by the Gaelcholáiste students. The programmes will be broadcast at 7 pm four evenings in a row from 18 March until 21 March on RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta, and will also be rebroadcast during Easter Week from 2–5 April.

Students can tune in on FM, live online at www.rte.ie/rnag or listen back on RTÉ Radio Player www.rte.ie/radioplayer. There will also be an opportunity to download each of the 20 interviews as stand-alone podcasts from the RTÉ website.