Towards a Better Future

Chapter Three: Curriculum
is allocated for oral and aural tests; in Geography and History, students may submit a written project
in advance of the examinations. There are also practical/performance assessments in subjects such
as Music and Art. However, unlike other countries where a proportion of marks in national (or
state) examinations are allocated for continuous school-based (and teacher-marked) assessment, the
Irish Leaving Certificate is entirely marked by external examiners with no involvement in marking
or grading by the students’ own teachers.
The Leaving Certificate Vocational Programme was introduced in 1994 to help students develop
business and enterprise skills as well as interpersonal, vocational and technical skills. Students must
take at least five Leaving Certificate subjects, two of which must be from a specified list of vocational
subjects. They must also take a modern European language as well as two so-called ‘link modules’
which focus on preparation for the world of work and enterprise education. The link modules are
assessed based on a portfolio of coursework and the other subjects are assessed in the same way as
the LCE. LCVP is taken by between 30% and 35% of students.
The LCA was introduced in 1995 for students
who are not catered for by the LCE or LCVP
and who might be at risk of early school leaving.
It offers a combination of general education,
vocational education and vocational preparation
courses, and involves a cross-curricular approach
rather than a subject-based structure. The
programme is offered on a modular basis and
assessment includes module completion,
practical tasks and written examinations. The
LCA is not recognised for direct access to higher
education. About 6% of Senior Cycle students
take the LCA and the number has been falling
in recent years.
“
The Leaving Certificate
Vocational Programme was
introduced in 1994 to help
students develop business and
enterprise skills as well as
interpersonal, vocational and
technical skills.
”
As over 90% of students take either the LCE or the LCVP, the vast majority are eligible for higher
education entry. In practice, more than 60% of Leaving Certificate students proceed to higher
education, which is one of the highest proportions in the EU. This contrasts with the situation in
many other EU countries (e.g. Germany, the Netherlands) where an academic track leading to
university is open only to a minority of the student cohort (OECD 2004, cited in Smyth, Banks and
Calvert, 2011).
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