The Leaving Certificate (View Department of Education and Science by left clicking on the Leaving Certificate name. Below follows what subject choice St. Paul's College offers.
The certificate is used for the purposes of selection into further education, employment, training and higher education.
The examination is the terminal examination of post-primary education. It is held at the end of the Senior Cycle in post-primary schools. The Senior Cycle caters for students in the 15 to 18 year old age group. The majority of candidates who sit for the examinations are recognised students in post-primary schools, are 17 or 18 years of age and have completed 5 or 6 years of post-primary education.
Subject Choice.
The examination is offered in the following subjects and levels. For curriculum information for each of these subjects please click on this link to the website of the Department of Education and Science or follow the links to the relevant sections of the Careers portal Website
| SUBJECT | LEVEL |
| Irish | Higher, Ordinary and Foundation |
| English | Higher and Ordinary |
| French | Higher and Ordinary |
| German | Higher and Ordinary |
| Spanish | higher and Ordinary |
| History | Higher and Ordinary |
| Geography | Higher and Ordinary |
| Mathematics | Higher, Ordinary and Foundation |
| Applied Mathematics | Higher and Ordinary |
| Physics | Higher and Ordinary |
| Chemistry | Higher and Ordinary |
| Biology | Higher and Ordinary |
| Business | Higher and Ordinary |
| Economics | Higher and Ordinary |
Art (including crafts) |
Higher and Ordinary |
| Music | Higher and Ordinary |
| Technical Drawing | Higher and Ordinary |
Some students may choose to do extra subject outside of school hours.
Composition of the Examination
The examination incorporates written tests in all subjects. In addition, there are oral and aural tests in the subjects Irish, French, German and Spanish. There are practical examinations in Art and Music. There is Practical Course Work in Geography and Religion and in LCVP .
Grading
Results of the Leaving Certificate examination subjects are given in the form of grades. Each grade represents a percentage range of marks as follows:
Percentage Range Grade
| 90 or over A1 | 55 but less than 60 C3 |
| 85 but less than 90 A2 | 50 but less than 55 D1 |
| 80 but less than 85 B1 | 45 but less than 50 D2 |
| 75 but less than 80 B2 | 40 but less than 45 D3 |
| 70 but less than 75 B3 | 25 but less than 40 E |
| 65 but less than 70 C1 | 10 but less than 25 F |
| 60 but less than 65 C2 | Less than 10 No Grade |