Your questions answered by Brian Mooney.

I read your recent article on subject choice in The Irish Times on March 7th. My daughter is starting into fifth year next September and we found the article extremely useful in preparing for the choices she is currently considering. I have two queries regarding the Leaving Certificate Vocational Programme, as outlined in your article. Do you think it is a worthwhile subject for my daughter to take, and is it acceptable as a full subject for entry purposes by all the colleges in the CAO application process?

I think that selecting the LCVP is an excellent option for your daughter, because the programme combines the academic strengths of the established Leaving Certificate with a strong vocational dimension and provides students with opportunities to realise their potential for self-directed learning, for innovation and for enterprise. The strong vocational focus of the LCVP is achieved by arranging Leaving Certificate subjects into vocational subject groupings, eg specialist groupings such as subjects from the science group or from the business group or the service groupings, where a business subject is combined with a subject from the specialist grouping to form the two vocational subjects which must be included in a student's Leaving Certificate subject options. LCVP students take two additional courses of study called link modules, which include Preparation for the World of Work and Enterprise Education. The programme aims to prepare students for a world where the ability to cope with rapid change is of increasing importance and participants in the programme are encouraged to develop skills and competencies fundamental to both academic and vocational success.

With regard to your second question, all the colleges in the CAO application process award points for results in Leaving Certificate Vocational Programme link modules. Students may use those points if they are within the best six points score achieved at one sitting of the Leaving Certificate. The points awarded for the LCVP are: Grade Points Distinction, 70; Merit, 50; Pass, 30.

However, one of the main elements of eligibility for a course is to have a certain number of "passing subjects". The term is not very well known, but it means, for example, that a student needs to have six separate subjects at Grade Ordinary D3 or better in the Leaving Certificate, to be initially eligible for a Level 8 course. Furthermore, they need to have five separate subjects at Grade Ordinary D3 or better in the Leaving Certificate, to be initially eligible for a Level 6 course.

There may be other requirements such as two Higher C3s or better or a requirement to have a specific subject and/or at a specific grade, eg higher level maths at Grade C3 or better is a common requirement for engineering courses.

While all institutions award points for LCVP as explained above, the DIT and all universities, however, do not count it as one of the "passing subjects". Therefore, if you are applying for a Level 8 course at DIT or any of the universities, you must pass six other subjects to be initially eligible.

The institutes of technology, however, as well as awarding points as outlined above, do count LCVP as one of the passing subjects. Therefore, if you pass LCVP, you need to pass only five other subjects to be initially eligible for a Level 8 course. Institutes of technology do count LCVP as one of the passing subjects for both their Level 7 and Level 6 courses.

It is important for your daughter to be aware of this, when deciding on the subjects she wishes to take in the Leaving Certificate.

Brian Mooney is president of the Institute of Guidance Counsellors.