Q: I'm not sure if I should repeat my Leaving Cert or do A Levels. I live about the same distance from Belfast and Dublin. I'm very interested in science and would like to pursue a degree course in DIT Kevin St, NUI Dublin, TCD or Queen's. What should I do? - Louth student
A: The on-going saga of whether to repeat the Leaving Cert or go for the more specialised A Level exam has been with us for some time. You appear to already have the subjects required for matriculation into the colleges you mention as well as the faculty requirements. So it's a straight case of your best six subjects for points.
You could specialise in the three sciences which you have or take maths at A Level or, alternatively, repeat those four in Leaving Cert plus applied maths and economics. None of these will change in course content unlike repeating English or Irish.
There is only one examining board for Leaving Cert which is the Department of Education - everyone's result is measured in the same way. However, the exam is taken over a very short period and sometimes you could have two subjects on one day. All the grades have three subdivisions except the A grades which have two so you're getting a very precise measure of your efforts.
The grading system for A Levels has only four grades (A,B,C,D) unlike the 11 for the Leaving Cert and is thought to be a blunter instrument. For an A in A Level you could get anything from 175 in DCU to 190 in TCD with more agreement being reached at the lower end with a D grade at 100 for most colleges.
NUI Dublin does not give points for A Levels but sets a grade standard to be achieved for each faculty.
The A Level exams would mean specialising in three subjects which you will be continuing for your degree and this would certainly be an advantage. A Levels are available from six different exam boards in Britain as well as the Northern Ireland Council for the Curriulum Examinations and Assessment (NICCEA). This board is often considered to be a difficult one to score highly on.
This year there has been some concern that A Levels are getting easier and that schools are selecting the boards (all of which are independent and selffinancing) which they consider will yield the best results. This means that admissions officers are selecting from the pool of applicants that they feel offer the most real results. In addition, A Level students can sit the different exams at different times of the year - this takes the pressure off, unlike the condensed time scale of the Leaving Cert.
While Leaving Cert papers are generally three hours long, there may be two papers for some subjects such as maths, English, Irish but only one for subjects such as physics, chemistry, biology. A Level papers are generally shorter but each subject has between two and four papers spread out over a longer period.
In some cases such as history or politics, 20 to 30 per cent of marks go for project work submitted before April - this also eases the pressure. I really don't think it matters which exam you choose because all these colleges are very familiar with both.
There is much discussion at the moment as to whether A Levels should be scrapped and replaced by a broader exam such as we have here or the Scottish Highers or the International Bacc. This would be a radical move - not alone would students be taking more subjects but they would be obliged to cover a much wider range of disciplines.
Q: I`d love to work on a fishing boat when I leave school next June. I don't know anyone with a big boat but I have done a lot of fishing locally. Where should I apply? - Sligo student
A: You could apply to BIM at the National Fishery Training Centre in Greencastle, Co Donegal, for a traineeship as a fishing deckhand. All you need is to be over 16 years, be interested in fishing, get a seafarer's medical certificate, have Junior Cert standard and you're off.
However, you must pass an interview but this will be no problem given your experience so far. The fact that you will have a Leaving Cert by next June won't do you any harm either.
You will follow the course for 26 weeks which includes work experience placement on commercial fishing vessels. The content of the course is quite varied: network, ropework, gear maintenance, practical fishing, galley work, diesel engines, navigation/ watch keeping, fish handling, hygiene and quality control, personal safety and safe working practices. At the end, you will have a written exam and an assessment of practical competence conducted by BIM. The centre itself has all the latest training technology and works closely with the fishing industry.
Q: My son is very interested in becoming an astrophysicist. He is doing physics and chemistry for his Leaving Cert in 1999. I'd appreciate information on degree courses. - Co Kildare parent
A: Your son is choosing the best science options for his Leaving Cert so that he can proceed with the study of physics and chemistry of celestial bodies that is astrophysics. Most third-level colleges such as St Patrick's, Maynooth, UCG, UL, DCU and DIT provide under-graduate degree courses in physics. This would be a good start. He could then take a post-graduate course in astrophysics.
Some colleges have specialised options at undergraduate level in astrophysics such as UCD in year four of the honours degree in science. TCD has an option which may be selected at the end of the senior freshman year of the TR071 science degree course - it includes a research project in an appropriate institute or observatory.
Final-year students in UCC, having taken physics and maths in first year, can do extended research projects and write a minor dissertation on experimental astrophysics and cosmology as one of their options.
British colleges provide a much larger range of options. Some of the older universities - Birmingham, Bristol, Cambridge and Edinburgh - offer physics with astrophysics at degree level, while universities such as Keele offer it with almost any option you could dream of such as American studies, criminology, finance, Latin, neuroscience, philosophy, history, business administration and many, many more.
Queen's, Belfast, has a three or four-year full-time degree combined with physics.
Questions can be answered only through this column and not by phone or post. Write to Sile Sheehy, Education & Living, The Irish Times, D'Olier Street, Dublin 2 - or by e-mail to education@irish-times.ie
