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.
David Fleming, Sub Lieutenant - Navy
What subjects did you take in school and how have these influenced your career path?
For my Leaving Certificate I took the subjects, French, Geography and Business. Prior to applying for my cadetship I found out that I required a Science subject which I took up in my Leaving Certificate.
A lot of my training and education through the Navy todate has been Maths and Science based particularly Physics. If I had a choice again I would have gone down this line in school to give me a better foundation. The subjects I chose just made everything slightly harder.
Liz Christy, Textile Design/Handweaver
What subjects did you take in school and how have these influenced your career path?
The subjects I took at shool all influenced me in different ways. English is very necessary in how I represent myself, Maths is oh so important in so many ways from yarn calculations to understanding numeric’s in business.
Art was very influential in my career path. I was introduced to Impressionism and Monet who is a major inspiration in my current work and marketing mix.
I wish I was better at Irish and I would use it in my business marketing. History influenced how I relate to current affairs, Home Economics is vital in developing my needlecraft skills which is an important aspect of my business.
Biology, well I do enjoy gardening as a hobby and my husband is a student psychiatric nurse so a knowledge of biology has come in useful over the years.
Anne-Marie Kennedy, Chartered Sport Psychologist
What subjects did you take in school and how have these influenced your career path?
What I didnt expect in my psychology degree was the level of maths and statistics that was required. I was poor at maths and struggled a bit with this aspect of my degree. I probably would have chosen biology for leaving cert in hindsight just to get a better insight into how the brain works.
I found honours English throughout secondary school did help as I was used to writing essays and critically analysing pros and poetry. There was a lot of philosophy in my degree which can be taxing if you havent been exposed to it before so if there was an option to do a philosophy subject I would recommend that.