AFTER A ROCKY, low key start last September the Leaving Certificate Applied Programme is flow firmly under way in 57 schools and the first student tasks will be assessed in the coming weeks. More than 60 schools have also applied to join the programme next year and it will be generally available from 1997.

The LCAP is a two year programme which differs radically from the conventional Leaving Certificate and which will eventually replace the Senior Cert and Vocational Preparation Training programmes.

Eamon Stack, assistant chief inspector with the Department of Education, says "it has been recognised for some time that the established Leaving Certificate does not suit all pupils and that a different type of programme would be better able to give many pupils an opportunity to develop responsibility, self esteem and self knowledge and to prepare them for the transition from school to adult and working life, including further education."

A major objective of current educational policy is that the percentage of 16 to 18 year olds will increase to at least 90 per cent by the year 2000.

The programme is built around three main strands vocational preparation, vocational education and general education. It is modular rather than subject based. Vocational preparation is designed to facilitate the direct transition from school to working life. It includes work experience, enterprise education and oral and written communication skills.

Vocational education is concerned with the acquisition of knowledge and skills in vocational specialisms such as agriculture, horticulture, hotel catering and tourism and construction and manufacturing. The general education element spans arts, civic, social and economic education as well as communicative Irish and modern European languages.

Students are assessed on the basis of completion of modules, performance in student tasks and a final exam. Senator Feargal Quinn, chairman of the NCCA steering committee for the LCAP, says continuous assessment is a key part of the Leaving Cert Applied approach. By successfully completing course modules and the tasks, students can accumulate up to two thirds of all the available credits for the certificate.

"This is a powerful motivator, as the students can see their progress building up. It also reduces the tension attached to the final exam, which under this approach carries only a third of the credits."

So, how is the programme working? Noel O'Brien, vice principal of Kylemore College, Dublin, explains that the college had been running the VPTI and VPT2 programmes for the past 10 years. "We were seeing that students wanted to remain in school post Junior Cert but they didn't want to do the Leaving Cert." He was pleased with the draft copies of the LCAP but says that the introduction of the programme was faulty.

The college had 80 students enrolled last May but, in June, they were told that the programme was off. In August students and parents were told the programme would run.

Kylemore College has 72 students participating in the programme the largest school in the initial developmental stage. "We have collected in our first tasks and we are awaiting a Department Inspector to assess the tasks," says O'Brien. In first year, students can specialise in catering, motor engineering, woodwork, computers, drama and outdoor education.

"The outdoor education here is quite unique. It was built up from an extracurricular activity and we now have a fully equipped canoe store and three qualified members of staff. We also have the first climbing wall in a second level school and offer hill walking and orienteering." Students are expected to sit the exams of the bodies governing the sports.

He explains how the multi disciplinary approach works. Students did an environmental project on the possible uses of the Phoenix Park for tourism.

"We expect the science people to do a water quality survey and look at the flora and fauna and the geography people to look at land use at present and to draw up a developmental plan. It's not a simple matter of getting into a boat or canoe," O'Brien says.

While he is enthusiastic about the programme, he is somewhat concerned about the validity and status of the LCAR However, Eamon Stack says that Teastas, the national certification body, has confirmed that the successful completion of the Leaving Cert Applied will make pupils eligible for access to the vast majority of PLC courses.

"At present, a full listing of PLC courses, for which Leaving Certificate Applied students can apply, is being prepared( by the Department of Education for issue to schools. The list will include the various NCVA level 2 awards for PLC courses under five broad area art/ design, business, science, services/ leisure and communications/media studies."

While direct access to third level is not envisaged, students who do NCVA level 2 can then apply to third level. Stack says that the LCAP is also generating a good degree of interest among employers it is anticipated that most students will try to enter the workplace directly. They can also apply for apprenticeships.

Schools offering the programme say its approach in linking different subjects and the workplace motivates students, according to Senator Quinn. "One indication is that in many schools it is the Leaving Cert Applied students who are scoring highest in terms of attendance and punctuality."

He adds that the preparation of course modules for the second year are almost completed. "In addition, a detailed review of this year's progress is being undertaken. This aims to further refine the first year's course in time for the next intake of students in September."