Leaving Cert Subjects
Leaving Cert | Leaving Cert Applied (LCA)
Practical Group
These subjects are 'hands-on' and involve working with tools and machinery on physical things like wood, metals and plastic. They may involve designing, planning and building things.
Science Group
These subjects demonstrate how to explore nature using carefully planned methods, and teach the basic methods and findings of scientific investigation.
Artistic & Creative Group
These subjects involve developing creativity and the appreciation of the work of others. This involves learning the methods and techniques of the subject and producing your own work using these skills.
Humanities Group
These subjects explore the ways in which humans live and communicate in the world. Human life is examined by looking at our past, our present and into our future. These subjects help people to express themselves clearly and develop their reasoning ability.
Social Group
These subjects explore common issues faced by all people living in society. They develop the skills and knowledge used to manage personal resources and guide human behaviour.
Jack Barry, Analyst, Transfer Agency
What subjects did you take in school and how have these influenced your career path?
In school my 3 choice subjects were economics, business studies and construction. These were what I felt I had the most interest in so I went with these and by doing these I got to discover which I was best at, which I liked most and gain insights into what line of work I would most like to enter into after my education. I knew I liked and was good at working with my hands which is why I chose construction. I chose business and economics because I was interested in those areas and they were broad with ample career paths. These allowed me to see which areas I had the most interest in for a career so that I could select a college course that would enable these opportunities. After doing these subjects I discovered the thing that most appealed to me was working with others in a professional environment which is why I chose Business Studies in UL as there was plenty of careers I could pursue by doing this course, that I felt I would enjoy.
Jack Fitzsimons, Director of Sales & Marketing
What subjects did you take in school and how have these influenced your career path?
I feel the practical experience, alongside the foundation in understanding consumer behaviour, these are the areas I found most interesting, was the psychological side of hospitality and ultimately how a guest feels, this is a skill you learn with experience and having been fortunate to work with prestigious hotels like The Dorchester, The Shelbourne and The Westbury, it set me up to be in an environment with the highest guest expectations, to challenge myself and craft skills in dealing with these types of guests, skills which I am very proud of and use daily.
Michaela Musilova, Mission Control Space Services
What subjects did you take in school and how have these influenced your career path?
Since I love diversity and learning a range of things, I on purpose studied a lot of different subjects at school. As I explained above, in high school I decided to focus on sciences (biology, chemistry, maths and physics). However, I also loved arts and humanities, so I pursued studying history of art, history, geography and languages (French, German, Italian and English) as well.
My decision to have a varied education had a huge impact on my career. It allowed me to be able to tackle a number of multidisciplinary challenges and do the work that I do today: not just pure science, but also running international projects and representing my country at worldwide meetings/conferences.