End game: It's time to work out your Leaving Cert options

As the next cohort of Leaving Certificate students get ready to pick their options, guidance counsellor Brian Mooneyanswers your key questions on what subjects are best for you

HOW MANY SUBJECTS SHOULD I TAKE FOR MY LEAVING CERTIFICATE?

Having completed your Junior Certificate, and probably Transition Year, you are now contemplating your choice of subjects for your Leaving Certificate. These choices will determine your third level and career options in two years' time, so they are very important.

Most schools will offer you seven subjects. In the CAO system your highest six grades will be used to calculate your points for entry purposes to courses offered in all 42 higher education institutions.

If you are taking more than one ordinary-level paper, for example maths and Irish, and want the option of having six higher-level subjects for points purposes, you may be considering taking an extra subject. This option carries some risk. There is no such thing as an easy honour and every subject requires a certain amount of study on a daily basis. Taking eight Leaving Certificate subjects is a major undertaking. If the eighth subject is being taken outside school, you will have to consider the time involved in travelling to and from such a grind. All this detracts from the time available to work on the seven subjects you are taking in school.

As I have stated above, if you are taking certain combinations of Leaving Certificate subjects, you can opt to take the Leaving Certificate Vocational Programme (LCVP). Sixty per cent of the marks available are awarded for a portfolio of work, which is compiled during the two years of the programme, with the remainder being awarded for a short written paper, taken in mid May of your Leaving Certificate year. Students awarded a distinction in the LCVP will gain 70 points from this module, accepted by all colleges in the CAO system.

SHOULD CLEVER STUDENTS TAKE ON EXTRA SUBJECTS IF SUBJECT CHOICE IS RESTRICTED IN THEIR SCHOOL?

If there are timetable restrictions in your school, which make it impossible for you to take a subject you particularly enjoy, you could consider taking it outside school, provided you factor in an appropriate amount of study time to cover all your other subjects. Alternatively, you might consider changing schools, at the beginning of fifth year, to ensure that you get your desired subject choices.

WHAT HAPPENS IF I DO NOT TAKE HIGHER-LEVEL IRISH?

Apart from not being able to take a number of higher degree programmes, which have Irish as a core entry requirement, the main consequence of not taking higher-level Irish is that you are precluded from studying to be a primary school teacher in any of the Irish training colleges.

WHAT HAPPENS IF I DO NOT TAKE HIGHER-LEVEL MATHS?

There are wide ranges of level 8 degree programmes from which you will be precluded if you do not secure a minimum of a D3 or in many cases a C3 in higher-level maths. These include many engineering, science, information and computer technology courses, and most degrees that include maths as a core subject. If you are interested in careers which derive from such courses you can always start with a certificate programme, which will only require a D3 in ordinary-level maths and provided you secure a grade of at least 60 per cent in your examinations, progress through to ordinary degree and then on to a higher degree programme, adding only one extra year to your course of study.

WHAT HAPPENS IF I DO NOT TAKE A LANGUAGE OTHER THAN IRISH AND ENGLISH?

The colleges of the National University of Ireland demand a pass in a third language for entry into almost all of their courses - apart from nursing. These colleges are NUI Maynooth, University College Dublin, NUI Galway and University College Cork. NUI Maynooth has dropped the third language requirement for its engineering programmes. UCD has dropped this requirement for all its engineering and agricultural programmes. For the full language requirements of all NUI colleges and associated colleges of the NUI consult the NUI website www.nui.ie.

A third language is also a requirement, for entry into the cadetship in the army or aircorps. Trinity College Dublin accepts Irish as fulfilling their second language requirement. UL and DCU, plus all the institutes of technology do not require a continental language for entry purposes to their courses.

WHAT'S THE EASIEST SUBJECT IN THE LEAVING CERTIFICATE AND WHAT'S THE HARDEST?

There is no such thing as an easy honour in the Leaving Certificate. Some subjects may appear to have a very high success rate, but this is usually a reflection of the academic ability of the type of student who selects the subject in the first place, the fact that the subject attracts students with particular aptitudes, for example music and art, or that a specific language subject is taken by non-Irish nationals for whom it is a native tongue.

Another feature of the figures is that girls outperform boys in virtually every subject. All subjects at Leaving Certificate level require a two-year commitment. There are no short cuts.

WHAT COMBINATIONS OF SUBJECTS SHOULD YOU AIM FOR?

You should attempt to select a balanced range of subjects which will leave your career choice options open, for as long as possible. Most students take Irish (unless exempted), English and maths. A large majority of students study a continental language, or for those students coming originally from outside the EU, a native language, if allowed to do so by the State Examination Commission.

In selecting your remaining three subjects, you should study carefully the Institute of Guidance Counsellors/Irish Times booklet of essential subjects for entry to every third-level courses to ensure that you are aware of the minimum subject entry requirements for your courses. This information is available online on the www.qualifax.ie website.

If you want to find the list of courses within the CAO system that require a pass or higher in any particular Leaving Certificate subject, there is a new module in qualifax, that will give you this information. My general advice is that you should spread your final three choices, across the entire spectrum of business, scientific, liberal arts and practical subjects. You should also be mindful of the results of previous examinations and aptitude tests results in your subject combination.

CAREER CHOICES?

When you are deciding which subjects to take for your Leaving Certificate, remember this decision will have long-term consequences on what careers are open to you. A decision therefore not to take any science subject or not to take a continental language will have major implications on the range of careers open to you later on. The same does not apply to business subjects, as most business courses teach all subjects with the presumption that students know nothing.

If a student is making their subject choices and has not as yet decided what career they wish to follow after school, I would advise them to keep all their options open by taking a science and continental language subject from among their four optional subjects.

MOST IMPORTANT PIECE OF ADVICE?

A pass in ordinary-level maths is essential for entry to the majority of courses following the Leaving Certificate, so the 5,000 students who fail to secure a grade D in ordinary level are in a particularly difficult situation.

A further 5,000 students each year now choose foundation-level maths. There is a small but growing list of courses which will accept students who secure a grade A or B in this subject at foundation level. Whatever you do over the next two years don't neglect your work in this subject.