Leaving Certificate Applied
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- Welcome to O’ Carolan College’s Leaving Certificate Applied page
- Here you will find information about the programme and its associated activities
About Leaving Certificate Applied
- The Leaving Certificate Applied is a two-year programme aimed at preparing students for adult and working life
- It emphasises forms of achievement and excellence, which the established Leaving Certificate has not recognised in the past
- LCA contains the following elements: General Education, Vocational Preparation and Vocational Education
- The programme is based on Continuous assessment with the final exams accounting for 34% of the overall grade
Course Objectives
- To prepare students for adult and working life
- To provide students with skills-based learning
- To allow students to apply the learning experiences gained over the two years of the LCA programme to practical educational tasks at school, in the work place and in the wider community
The areas studied in the Leaving Certificate Applied
The programme is divided into three main areas:
- Vocational Preparation
- Vocational Education
- General Education
Vocational Preparation
Work Experience is essential to this element of the programme. Students undertake work placement one day a week during each school term.
Vocational Education
- Childcare
- Graphics and Construction
- Hotel, Catering and Tourism
General Education
Students study the following areas:
- Arts Education: Visual Art
- Gaeilge Chumarsáideach
- Modern Language
- Leisure & Recreation
- Social Education
Students also take two other approves elective courses in the areas of:
- Engineering
- Office & Administration & Customer Care
Asessment in LCA
Key Assignments & Tasks as part of Assessment
Students are assessed on a continuous basis over the four sessions with credits being awarded at the end of the session on satisfactory completion of modules. This involves students completing mandatory Key Assignments for each course.
Students complete 7 tasks over the two years. Tasks are anchored in specific courses. A task is a substantial project and is worth 10 credits. Students are interviewed by external examiners
Students have the potential to achieve 66% of their overall marks before completing their final exams.
End of Year Examinations
End of year Examinations take place in June as part of the State Exams. Subjects examined are:
- English and Communication
- Two Vocational Specialisms
- Mathematical Applications
- Language (Gaeilge Chumarsáideach & Modern European Languages)
- Social Education
Oral examinations, as well as written/aural examinations, will be held in the case of all the languages including English and Communications.
Awards
The Leaving Certificate Applied is awarded at three levels:
Further Studies
The Leaving Certificate Applied is accepted in most Post Leaving Certificate Courses (PLCs). Completing these courses will in many cases allow a student to progress to third level Institutes of Technology.
The Leaving Certificate Applied provides access to most apprenticeships with SOLAS (formerly FAS).
