Senior Cycle is of two years duration, at the end of which students complete the Leaving Certificate Examination.
Students select subjects for the Leaving Certificate based on their aptitude, aspirations, career goals and third-level entry requirements. Typically, students study seven subjects for the Leaving Certificate.
CORE:
- Irish
- English
- Mathematics
NON EXAM SUBJECTS:
- Religious Education
- Health Education
- Physical Education
- Careers
OPTIONAL:
- Agricultural Science
- Biology
- Business
- Construction Studies
- Design & Communication Graphics
- Engineering
- French,
- Geography
- History
- Home Economics
- Music
- Physics & Chemistry
- Visual Art
SENIOR CYCLE REDEVELOPMENT
In March 2022, Minister for Education Norma Foley, TD, unveiled her ambitious vision for a reimagined Senior Cycle, Equity and Excellence for All, centered on enhancing the student experience. As part of this plan, she directed the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) to establish a schedule for reviewing and redeveloping Senior Cycle subjects.
Minister Foley also asked the NCCA to create two new subjects: Drama, Film, and Theatre Studies and Climate Action and Sustainable Development. These additions aim to broaden students' choices, better reflect diverse interests, and nurture a wider range of talents and skills. The rollout of these new and redeveloped subjects will occur in five tranches.
Tranche 1 - 2025
Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Arabic, Latin, Ancient Greek, Business, Climate Action and Sustainable Development, Drama, Film and Theatre Studies.
Tranche 2 - 2026
Accounting, Construction Studies, Engineering, English, Geography, LCVP Modules, Physical Education.
Tranche 3 - 2027
Agricultural Science, Computer Science, Design and Communications Graphic, History, Home Economics, Mathematics, Music, Physics and Chemistry.
Tranche 4 - 2028
Art, Economics, French, Gaeilge, German, Italian, Politics and Society, Spanish, Technology.
Tranche 5 – 2029
Applied Mathematics, Classical Studies, Japanese, Lithuanian, Mandarin Chinese, Polish, Portuguese, Religious Education, Russian.
Additional Assessment Components
In addition to the final examination, each subject will have an Additional Assessment Component (AAC) worth at least 40% of the available marks. Student assessment will no longer rely solely on an end-of-year examination. The State Examinations Commission (SEC) has designed and developed assessment components that;
- appropriately test students’ skills, competencies and knowledge
- facilitates learning through, and by, doing
- can be integrated into teaching and learning
- seek to balance issues of validity and reliability with manageability for the student; the teacher; the school authority and the wider system.