Guidance for Subject Choices: Parents and Students Information Night
Providing essential insights on subject choices for parents and students, this information night covers key areas such as Transition Year, Leaving Certificate options (Applied, Established, and Vocational), subject selection process, potential future implications of subject choices, complementary subjects to consider, project work distribution, and utilizing tools like the Career Interests Profiler to align subjects with career paths.
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Information night on subject choice for parents and students Format: 1. Introduction Mr. Ruaidhri Devitt 2. Transition Year : Ms Long 3. Leaving Certificate Applied : Mr Kennedy 4. Leaving Certificate Established: Ms Merrigan 5. Leaving Certificate Vocational Program 6. Subject Choice 7. Questions and Answers
Leaving Certificate Established (LCE) Two year programme. Continues where the Junior Cert leaves off, but is far more extensive and there is a big jump in standard Core subjects - English, Maths and Irish* are compulsory. (*Unless you have an official exemption from Irish in place) Usually a maximum of 7 subjects are taken for the Leaving Cert so 3 core subjects then students pick 4 optional subjects Choosing which optional subjects to study is an important process.
Subject Choice/Options Subject options/levels should be considered in detail e.g. those studying Honours Maths can avail of extra points, if a student receives a H6 in Honours Maths they gain 25 extra points to the 46 points already awarded bringing them up to 71 points Subject choice can have future implications -for example a 3rd language is required for entry to National University of Ireland Colleges for most (not all) degree programmes, cadetships in the Army and Navy etc, therefore in order that they don t rule out any college where a 3rd language is a requirement most students chose to study a third language which in our school is French
Complimentary Subjects Leaving Cert has a big workload so anywhere the workload can be reduced is helpful,e.g. Biology and Home Economics overlap in human anatomy sections Agricultural Science has some overlap with Geography and Biology The Link Modules in LCVP are rooted in Business
Project Work Many subjects have project work that accounts for a substantial percentage of the overall grade which can ease the burden on students in the final exam. For example: History Individual project Geography Group project etc 20% 20%
Student Profile Career Interests Profiler on CareersPortal takes only 15 minutes to complete. This proves students with a free printable report containing a summary of their career interests along with occupations that match their interest profile. This is very helpful for helping students pick subjects that might feed into these careers
Leaving Certificate Vocational Programme (LCVP) LCVPis not an option band subject, instead it is an add on subject which you will do 3 times a week in the computer room. LCVP combines regular Leaving Cert subjects with three additional compulsory link modules, Enterprise Education, Preparation for Work and Work Experience. Approximately 80% of students nationally use LCVP for CAO points, without it they would be down about 20 points and may lose out on a college place. Unless you are doing all higher level subjects and you are expecting to get H1 s (A) or H2 s (B) in them you should do LCVP. LCVP is taken at common level and grades are awarded for Distinction(66points), Merit (46 points) and Pass (28 points) There are some restrictions in choosing LCVP for example you must do a foreign language like French if you want to do LCVP. If not doing French as a subject choice a basic French is provided. When students have chosen their subjects then we can go through the different bands to see if LCVP is compatible with their choice of subjects
CAO courses- how do I know if I have a chance of getting the course? At least 3 Higher subjects for these points At least 4 higher subjects for these points At least 6 higher subjects for these points <150 pts 150-250 250-350 350-400 400-450 450-500 500-550 550-600 Spa Mgmt AIT Building mgmt & engineering Wildlife biology Health & physical activity DKIT General nursing Children s nursing PE in UL, UCC Medicine Equine Studies (Business) Business sport and recreation TV& broadcasting Business NUIG Psychiatric Nursing Education- primary level 7 Psychology, Veterinary Actuary Bar supervision Counselling & psychotherapy Excercise & health Arts with creative writing Science at Uni including zoology, marine science Podiatry, Pharmacy, Speech Therapy, Ophthalmology, Business 6/7 Marketing, Social care Intellectual disability nursing Midwifery Occupational Therapy, Physiotherapy Front Office Management Dental Hygienist Dietician Computer games development Advertising & media Early childhood education Psych nursing, LAW Sport science & health DCU Primary Ed. level 8 Dentistry Radiography, Construction Social & community studies Business DIT ETC.. Software engineering Communicatio ns DCU Home Ec. teacher Social Studies TCD Culinary Arts Accounting & finance 6/7 Arts, Humanities Computer science Journalism PE & Biology Radiography *make sure that you check the pts for standard rather than mature
Subject Groupings Business Science Languages Applied Sciences Social Studies Business Biology French Home Economics History Accountancy Chemistry Construction Studies Geography Physics Engineering Music Agricultural Science Design and Communication Graphics Art
Important points to consider when choosing your subjects What do I like? What am I good at? What grades did I get in the subject at Junior Certificate Level What subjects do I need for college/course I m interested in? You re good at what you enjoy, it s much more difficult to do well in a subject you don t enjoy. Choose what you re good at it ll come naturally to you Be independent, try not to be overly influenced by others, choose the subjects you want to do and not the subject your friends are doing What have you left out? What careers has this eliminated? Performance indicators in the subject (a) % of high grades attained in the subject (b) suitability of the subject to your learning strengths e.g. project work Subject Level choices should be based on the entry requirements for the career areas you are interested in
What do I need to know to make a choice? You may not know what you want to do after school but if you know what you definitely don t want to do it s a great help so that you are ok with eliminating certain career and course options by not having certain subjects You need to know how you learn or perform best/worst You need to know what tasks activities and environments you enjoy so as to identify subject areas of interest You need to know what subjects you have performed well in in the past and which subjects term reports suggest you will perform well in in the future
Advice from present 6th years on Subject Choice? Don t follow your friends into subjects that might not suit you- be your own person Don t under or over-estimate your abilities. Know your level Know requirements before you chose your subjects Be aware of 3rd language requirement for NUI colleges Pick subjects with a good balance of project and practical work that s suits you best You ll have an idea of what suits you from how you got on in written project work, practical work and exam based results from your junior cert reports and or exam results Project work can help spread out the work a bit more rather than having all marks based on exams in June but at the same time don t have too much project work if you are bad at time management as other subjects suffer
If still unsure If unsure pick a broad range of subjects A 3rd language A business subject A science subject An applied science/humanities This allows access to a broad range of careers/courses
Useful resources to help make a choice Eliminating certain career and course options by not having certain subjects- see www.qualifax.ie How you learn best- www.VARK.com To identify career areas of interest- www.careersportal.ie
Useful Resources Qualifax Student , Useful tools
What are/were your favorite junior certificate subjects- Place a number beside subjects to indicate order of preference (with 1 being your favorite) Materials Technology Wood Art Mathematics Business Studies Music Civic Social & Political Education Physical Education English Religion French Science Geography Social Personal & Health Education History Irish Technical Drawing Materials Technology Metal
2. What subjects are you good at/best at? Remember your junior cert results/term report, which subjects did you always get high grades in? Materials Technology Wood Art, Mathematics Business Studies, Music Civic Social & Political Education Physical Education English Religion French Science Geography Social Personal & Health Education Technical Drawing History Irish Materials Technology Metal
1.Please circle the careers and career areas that you think you may be interested in (you can pick more than one) 4 Social Garda, care worker, home-help, social worker, personal assistant to someone with a disability, youth worker, community worker. Medical, Healthcare & Therapy Nurse, doctor, physiotherapist, occupational therapist, radiographer, dentist, dental nurse, vet, veterinary nurse, dietician, ophthalmologist. Arts & Entertainment Musician, artist, actor, set designer, photographer, journalist, writer, fashion designer, graphic artist, dancer, DJ, broadcasting, presenter. Agriculture & Food Production Farmer, food producer, quality control manager in food production, nutritionist, Horticulturalist. Childcare, Education & Training Childcare worker Teacher Trainer Lecturer Other-please write here if not listed already Engineering & Trades Carpenter, joiner, fitter, electrician, construction engineer, electronic engineer, mechanical engineer, architect, civil engineer, mechanic, fitter, fabricator, quantity surveyor, software engineer, games developer Health, Safety & Environmental Protection Health & safety officer, environmental health officer, environmental protection agency worker. Science, Research & Maths Actuary, economist, statistician, business analyst, toxicologist, forensic scientist, archaeologist, geologist Services, Tourism, Hotel & Catering Bar person, caterer, chef, cook, waiter, hotel manager, travel agent, tour guide, outdoor pursuits educator, marketing manager, PR. Business & Financial Services Retail manager, banker, clerk, accountant, financial analyst, risk assessor, investment banker, sales, real estate etc marketing manager, PR. Arts & Humanities/Human Sciences Psychologist Government official Town Planner, lawyer, translator, policy maker, educator+
5. Make an attempt at picking 8 subjects In order of preference Using the list of subjects in Handout 1 on Page 8, 1 Some subjects on the list will be different to what you have studied before. 2 3 If you were good at Home Ec. & science then you will be good at Ag Science, Biology, Home Ec. If good at Science then maybe good at Biology, Physics, Chemistry. If good at CSPE then you might be good at History or Geography & subjects with written portfolios If good at woodwork, then you might be good at construction. If good at metalwork, then you might be good at Engineering. If good at Business and Maths then you might be good at Accounting and Business. If good at Business and good at written project work e.g. CSPE then you will be good at LCVP If you didn t choose the subject at Junior Cert, how did you get on in the 1st year taster program? 4 5 6 7 8
6. What subjects have you left out? (p4) Included in your 3 above Leaving this out Eliminates a career or course What career choice will this decision affect Subject (tick appropriate box in the columns on the right) Accounting Agricultural Science Art Biology Business Chemistry Construction Studies Engineering French Geography History Home Economics Music Physics PE Technical Drawing Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No
7. By leaving out this subject are you eliminating any career options Do you need to change your subject choices 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.
Do many students get good exam grades in this subject? See on handout 3 page 13/14 Subjects chosen Place a tick beside the relevant statement 1 Many achieve high grades in this subject Some achieve high grades in this subject Few achieve high grades in this subject 2 Many achieve high grades in this subject Some achieve high grades in this subject Few achieve high grades in this subject 3 Many achieve high grades in this subject Some achieve high grades in this subject Few achieve high grades in this subject 4. Many achieve high grades in this subject Some achieve high grades in this subject Few achieve high grades in this subject Many achieve high grades in this subject Some achieve high grades in this subject Few achieve high grades in this subject 5.
10. Does this affect your choice? If so make a 3rd attempt at your subject choice?- 1. 2. 3. 4.
Look at the requirements for LCVP below- Does this affect your choice? If so make a 5th attempt at your subject choice?- 1. 2. 3. 4.
