The Leaving Certificate Examination (commonly referred to as the Leaving Cert) is the final examination in the Irish secondary school system. Two years' study is required, and it is usually taken 3 years after the Junior Certificate Examination. Most students taking the examination are aged 17-19; in excess of eighty percent of this group undertake the exam, although between socio-economic groups this varies greatly. Examination is overseen by the State Examinations Commission. There are three distinct programs that can be followed:
- (Established) Leaving Certificate: The Established Leaving Certificate, introduced in 1924, is the most common programme taken; it is continuously reformed to meet current social and economic needs. A minimum of five (most take six or seven) subjects. Except where exemptions are awarded for individual circumstances, the core subjects, English, Mathematics and Irish, must be taken as compulsory subjects. The student may choose to take as many subjects as they wish. However, only the student's best six subjects are counted for points.
- Leaving Certificate Applied: The Leaving Certificate Applied, introduced in 1995, is taken to prepare the student for adult and working life. It consists of three elements these are General Education, Vocational Education and Vocational Preparation. It is designed to place on achievement and excellence which are not catered for by traditional academic programmes.
- Leaving Certificate Vocational Programme: The Leaving Certificate Vocational Programme, introduced in 1989, is similar to the established programme. The student takes two traditional subjects, a language and Link Modules. It is designed to help the student find their potential for self-directed learning, innovation and enterprise.
Undergraduate admission
Ireland
School leavers who want to attend undergraduate courses in Irish colleges and universities have to enter the clearing house run by the Central Applications Office (CAO). Admission is based solely on examination results, usually from the Established Leaving Certificate. Six subjects are scored for the purposes of admission, each grade is translated into "points" - this can vary from 5 to 100 such points depending on the results thus a maximum of 600 can be obtained. Institutions can also set minimum grade requirements in specific examination subjects for each of their courses.
- For more information on admission see Central Applications Office.
United Kingdom
Traditionally relatively large numbers of Irish students went to university in the United Kingdom, particularily in Northern Ireland and larger mainland cities - this has tailed off somewhat since the expansion of education. In recognition of this the Established Leaving Certificate underwent a process with UCAS to gain entry to the UCAS Tariff for direct entry to United Kingdom universities. This introduced the examination into the centralised system with other awards in the UCAS system. On June 8th, 2004 it was decided that a Leaving Certificate (higher) subject will be worth two-thirds of an A-level (UK). Increasingly students from the Republic of Ireland attend university in Northern Ireland, and indeed vice-versa. Early indications [1] (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/3794527.stm) seem to show that Irish higher education institutions will adjust their evaluation of the A-level inline with the report.
See also
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