Leaving Certificate
Senior Cycle
The Leaving Certificate curriculum is followed for two years with students following the core subjects:
• Gaeilge
• English
• Mathematics
• SPHE
Students then choose three option subjects from the following list subjects. These subjects include:
• Biology
• Chemistry /Physics
• Accounting
• Business
• Home Economics
• Art
• Engineering
• History
• Geography
• French
• German
• Technical Drawing
• Construction Studies
• Music
The Career and Counselling service in the school is available to any student that needs advice prior to choosing Leaving Certificate option subjects with a view to their third level choice of courses.
ICT, Careers, Religion and Physical Education are also studied in Senior Cycle.
Points System
The points assigned to each grade achieved in the Leaving Certificate are shown in the table below. Points for individual applicants are calculated as the total of the points from your six highest grades. ie. the maximum number of points available to any one candidate is 600, which you would achieve if you got A1s on six (or more) Higher papers.
| Grade | Higher Paper | Ordinary Paper |
| A1 | 100 | 60 |
| A2 | 90 | 50 |
| B1 | 85 | 45 |
| B2 | 80 | 40 |
| B3 | 75 | 35 |
| C1 | 70 | 30 |
| C2 | 65 | 25 |
| C3 | 60 | 20 |
| D1 | 55 | 15 |
| D2 | 50 | 10 |
| D3 | 45 | 5 |
Grading
Results of the Leaving Certificate examination subjects are given in the form of grades. Each grade represents a percentage range of marks as follows:
| Percentage Range | Grade |
| 90 or over | A1 |
| 85 but less than 90 | A2 |
| 80 but less than 85 | B1 |
| 75 but less than 80 | B2 |
| 70 but less than 75 | B3 |
| 65 but less than 70 | C1 |
| 60 but less than 65 | C2 |
| 55 but less than 60 | C3 |
| 50 but less than 55 | D1 |
| 45 but less than 50 | D2 |
| 40 but less than 45 | D3 |
| 25 but less than 40 | E |
