Leaving Certificate
For the Leaving Certificate, St Mary’s offers maths in three levels; Higher, Ordinary & Foundation Level. Similar to Junior Cycle, Leaving Cert maths is divided into 5 strands:
Strand 1: Statistics & Probability
Strand 2:Geometry & Trigonometry
Strand 3: Number
Strand 4: Algebra
Strand 5: Functions
Assessment
At Ordinary level and Higher level there are two assessment components
- Mathematics Paper 1
- Mathematics Paper 2
Each paper will contain two sections – A and B.
- Section A will address core mathematics topics, with a focus on concepts and skills.
- Section B will include questions that are context based applications of mathematics.
At Foundation level there is one assessment component, a written paper. Learners will be assessed by means of problems set in meaningful contexts. An example of a Leaving Certificate chemistry exam can be found here. You can also find all past exam papers as well as additional sample papers here.
Careers
Maths is very useful for career prospects as key skills that students develop in this subject can be applied to any job, such as critical thinking, problem solving and analytical skills.
Many careers directly involve a knowledge of maths – for example Auditor, Software Developer, Statistician, Financial Analyst, Actuary, Economist, Accountant, Quantity Surveyor
Events held during the year
The Maths week initiative occurs in the 3rd week of October annually. During this week, students are encouraged to engage with maths in a novel and active way. Through group activities, guest speakers and competition Maths is promoted as the active and essential subject that it is.
A few of our students have also taken part in the Junior Maths Enrichment programme run by UCD. This programme brings together Junior Cycle students who have a keen interest maths with 3rd level Maths students to solve problems and to engage with the subject in a more hands on way.
Links
Instagram @stmarysmathssci
JC Maths Specification
LC Maths Curriculum
Junior Maths Enrichment
Subject specific websites:
Mr. Barton Maths
IXL Maths
The Maths Tutor