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.
Sam Franklin, Earth Observation Specialist
What subjects did you take in school and how have these influenced your career path?
I took science and geography options at GCSE level (up to 16), followed by geography, biology and psychology A-Levels (16-18). At A-level, I followed my interests, but with hindsight I wish I had pursued Maths and Physics. The UK system has changed now and you do a wider number of subjects between 16-18 which is a good thing. My lack of science at A-Level did hurt my career progression at university, which required me to get extremely high grades to demonstrate that I could take on the harder science topics at University. My advice is to study Maths (in addition to other things you’re interested in) for as long as possible. It’s like a VIP pass in your career. If you’ve got maths, then that takes you anywhere. I wish I had known this earlier on.
Rachel Berry, Pharmacist
What subjects did you take in school and how have these influenced your career path?
For GCSE I studied Maths, Additional Maths, Chemistry, Biology, Physics, Geography, English Language and Literature and German.
For A-Level I took Maths, Chemistry and Biology. I chose these subjects primarily because I was good at them and also because I enjoyed them. The school I attended was very academic and I always knew my future career would involve science of some description so the choices I made were logical.
I do regret not continuing on with art, although at the time I wasn't sure I could spare the time to commit to an extra subject that wasn't really going to come in useful. I guess you just have to weigh up costs and benefits. I found it very helpful to have a good grasp of statistics and pure maths as these topics came up quite alot during the pharmacy degree.
If you are thinking of taking a degree in pharmacy make sure you look at the admission requirements in good time as they can be quite specific and I know the grades are increasing every year so you need to be sure you are capable of making the grades.
Tomas Flanagan, Occupational Therapist
What subjects did you take in school and how have these influenced your career path?
In school we had to choose our Leaving Cert subjects just before the Junior Cert. At this stage I had no idea what I wanted to do as a profession but I knew I wanted to go to College.
In order to keep my options open I chose a mix of subjects to include one language, one science subject and one business subject. In addition to the obligatory English, Irish & Maths I therefore studied French, Biology, Geography & Accounting. I chose these particular subjects as I had an interest in them at Junior Cert level.
I suppose Biology was the most relevant of my subjects when I started college as there was some overlap with Anatomy and Physiology. We also studied research and statistics in college which were Maths related.