St. Paul’s Community College provides three distinct programmes in Senior Cycle:
- Established Leaving Certificate
- Leaving Certificate Applied
- Leaving Certificate Vocational Programme (LCVP)
Leaving Certificate Curriculum
Core Subjects:
Additional Subjects
- P.E.
- Religious Education
- Career Guidance
- Wellbeing
Option Subjects:
Students will have to choose subjects for their Leaving Certificate. The following subjects are on offer:
- Art and Design
- Accounting
- Biology
- Business
- Construction
- Chemistry
- Design and Communication Graphics
- Economics
- Engineering
- Geography
- History
- Home Economics
- LCVP
- Music
- Physics
- Physical Education
- Religion
LCVP – Leaving Certificate Vocational Programme
Many students take the Leaving Certificate Vocational programme (LCVP) which is an intervention designed to enhance the vocational dimension of the established Leaving Certificate. It emphasises enterprise education and preparation for working life. Assessment of the LCVP take the form of both written examination and a portfolio of continuous coursework completed in the duration of the two-year programme of study and the grade obtained may be used as part of the calculation of the traditional ‘Points’ system.
Our LCVP Programme aims to prepare students for an ever-evolving working, technological and business world while capitalising on the already present academic strengths of students and engendering and encouraging a spirit of enterprise in each individual.
Leaving Certificate Applied Programme
The Leaving Certificate Applied is a two-year Leaving Certificate, available to students who wish to follow a practical or vocationally oriented programme. A key aspect of the programme is enabling students to prepare for adult and working life. The word ‘applied’ is used because the programme is designed to allow the students to apply the learning and experiences they gain over the two years of the programme to practical educational tasks at school, in the workplace and in the wider community.
The Leaving Certificate Applied is different in a number of ways:
- It is a practical programme that makes wide use of active and student-centred learning methodologies.
- It includes seven Student Tasks that bring together the different learning experiences that the students have gained from the courses they have taken.
Is uses a unique system of assessment. The Students’ work is assessed over the two years of the programme and they gain credits as they go along. Practicals, interviews and terminal written papers are among the different forms of assessment used. The students’ communication, problem-solving and practical skills are also assessed.