Choosing Leaving Cert subjects?
The Leaving Cert report shows which subjects suit your child and why, how those subjects work together over two years, and what has to change about study and coursework. Ready before the subject form is due.
For students in 3rd year and Transition Year.
The subjects that came out on top for Hannah
| Subject | What lifts it for Hannah | Match |
|---|---|---|
| Art | Practical work, her own ideas and time to develop them, and she gets a lot from it now | 94% |
| Home Economics | Practical food work and real-life topics, and she gets a lot from it now | 87% |
| Computer Science | Building and testing things, and a project on a real problem | 83% |
Each percentage compares subjects with each other for Hannah. It isn't a grade or a chance of doing well.
Inside the Leaving Cert report
36 pages in five parts, written about your child by name. Here's what each part gives you, with real pages from Hannah's report.
See what a teenager doesn't always say
By 3rd year, a lot goes unsaid. The Student Card sets out the three things that stand out most in your child's answers, what they're like at their best, and what can be easy to misread at home, each with a note on what helps.
Clear in her answers
She sorts things out on her own, so a problem tends to show late
That independence is a strength for coursework. The cost is that a problem can build before anyone hears about it.
What helps: watch what gets put off rather than what gets said. One small question about one piece of work tells you more than ‘How was school?’
How it's likely to go for Hannah
Keeping Spanish, or not
Languages came out near the bottom of her list. That's about the kind of work, not ability: a lot of words to know without notes, and speaking on the spot in an oral.
Before you decide: check the courses she's drawn to. The NUI colleges ask for a third language for many of their degrees.
Pick subjects that suit them and keep doors open
Their top six subjects, a page on each of the top three, and the question that separates any two that come out close. It also covers the decisions that matter later, like whether to keep a language.
See how their subjects work together over two years
Subjects don't arrive one at a time. This part looks at the likely set as a whole: what repeats, where coursework deadlines stack up, how much learning off by heart is in the mix, and what to do if a subject turns out to be wrong.
What you might see at home
How her top three fit together
If starts slip, two or three coursework pieces due in the same few weeks, all needing to be finished at once.
What helps: early in fifth year, ask each teacher for the coursework dates and put them all on one page at home.
What changes about study for the Leaving Cert
Leaving Cert courses run over two years, so topics are bigger and build on each other, and a lot can't be learned the week before an exam.
For Hannah: the bigger topics suit her if she meets them by doing: trying questions, making something, checking what she missed.
Make the jump from Junior Cycle study
How study has to change for two-year courses, a method built around how your child learns, the coursework they're likely to meet, and a study week that fits real life in 5th year.
Support them through the pressure, without taking over
The part written for you. If you named a worry in the quiz, like confidence or exam pressure, it gets its own page: what the report can say about it, what it can't, and what helps. It ends with one page for the fridge.
When the pressure builds
A single exam or result doesn't seem to be what gets to her; the pile is.
‘What's the small bit you could do tonight?’ It's how she already gets herself going. It turns a heavy week into one step.
‘Do you want a hand, or a bit of space?’ Asking lets her choose, so help doesn't feel like taking over.
When to do it
Every school sets its own dates, so check with yours. This is the usual order.
- 3rd year or TY
The school shares its subject list, option blocks and form.
- Before the form
Complete the quiz together. We'll confirm the report's delivery timeframe before payment.
- First term of 5th year
Use Part 2 to tell a wrong subject from a hard start.
- 5th and 6th year
Parts 3 and 4 for coursework dates, study and the weeks pressure builds.
Leaving Cert questions
Get the Leaving Cert report
€49.99, everything included. You pay once the quiz is done.
Choosing Leaving Cert subjects? Start with the trade-offs.
Our free Irish guide covers subject combinations, school option blocks, workload and when to verify a college-course requirement.
Read the Leaving Cert subject-choice guideStart with our free 15-minute subject-choice checklist to compare workload, subject blocks and any college requirements that need checking.