English
English is a core subject for all students from first year to sixth year. Our current Junior Certificate students are studying the new English course as part of the new Junior Cycle.
What will the Junior Cycle exam look like?
In previous years, Junior Certificate students have done a final English exam in June. Under the new Junior Cycle, assessment is broken down as follows:
- 2 Classroom Based Assessments. Students complete 2 oral presentations, one in second year and one in third year, which are assessed and graded by the classroom teacher and moderated by the school English department.
- Students complete an Assessment Task which is a reflective exercise based on their experiences of their classroom based assessment. This is worth 10% of the student’s overall mark
- Students sit a final exam in June worth 90%. Students will sit a common level exam; there are no longer Higher and Ordinary levels at Junior cycle level.
What will the Leaving Certificate exam look like?
Paper 1 is divided into two sections: Comprehension and composition
Students are expected to answer questions based on their understanding of two reading comprehensions. They must also compose a written piece (essay, debate speech, short story, etc) considering their audience and purpose.
Paper 2 examines the students’ understanding of a range of literary texts which have been prescribed for study:
Students must choose a single text for close study, three or more texts to form a comparative study, and must follow a prescribed course in poetry.
Students can decide to study English at Ordinary or Higher level for the Leaving Certificate.
