Other leaving cert options

Over 3,200 students receiving their Leaving Certificate results today will not need to convert their results into points, because they have chosen to do the alternative Leaving Certificate Applied (LCA) programme.

The Leaving Certificate Applied is a separate standalone programme of two years’ duration, with a particular emphasis on preparing students for adult and working life.

It caters for students who prefer the practical approach over the purely academic approach Although LCA students are not usually qualified to apply directly to third-level colleges, they may use the LCA to proceed to further and higher education through Post Leaving Certificate (PLC) or further education (FE) courses and to many areas of employment.

The LCA is acceptable for direct entry to apprenticeships, and for courses offered by Failte Ireland (previously CERT). LCA holders with a merit or distinction are eligible to apply to the Garda Siochana.

Some banks accept LCA holders with distinction. Leaving Certificate Vocational Programme People sometimes confuse the Leaving Certificate Vocational (LCVP) with the Leaving Certificate Applied, but they are two separate programmes.

The LCVP is a senior cycle programme designed to give a strong vocational dimension to the established Leaving Certificate programme. It is not a separate stand-alone Leaving Certificate programme, but is taken in association with the established Leaving Certificate which the majority of Leaving Certificate candidates take each year.

All Higher Education Institutes (HEIs) award points for results in the LCVP Link modules in place of a sixth Leaving Certificate subject, with 70 points being awarded for a Distinction, 50 for a Merit and 30 for a Pass. Its popularity increases from year to year. This year over 17,000 of the 55,550 Leaving Certificate entrants took the LCVP, and over 80pc are likely to use it as their sixth subject for CAO points.

- Mary O’Donnell