There's a common misconception that failing Leaving Cert Maths is different to failing other subjects. Since maths is compulsory for the Leaving Cert, a lot of students think that failing Leaving Cert Maths means that they don't get their Leaving Cert at all. While we can confirm that this is a myth and you can still get your Leaving Cert if you fail maths, there's more to it than that. Here, we'll explain how marking works for the Leaving Cert, what a "fail" actually is (and if it even exists), what happens if you do "fail" Leaving Cert Maths, and how you can avoid failing.
Key Takeaways
- Failing maths does not mean you fail the Leaving Cert. You still receive your Leaving Certificate once you complete the exams, even if you get zero points in maths.
- There is no formal “fail” in the Leaving Cert system. Results are awarded as grades and CAO points, and outcomes depend on course requirements rather than pass or fail labels.
- Failing Leaving Cert Maths mainly affects CAO points, not whether you qualify for the Leaving Cert itself. Many third-level courses do not require a maths grade.
- Higher Level Maths carries the most CAO value, with up to 125 points available when bonus points are included, but it also brings added pressure for some students.
- Maths results matter more for specific courses, such as engineering, science, business, and education, which often have minimum maths grade requirements.
- Students who fall short still have options, including repeating the Leaving Cert, progressing through PLC routes, or choosing courses without maths requirements.
How Leaving Cert Marking Works
The Leaving Cert marking system is needlessly complicated, so we'll try to make it simpler. Students studying the Leaving Cert will take various exams for each of their Leaving Cert subjects. Here are some tips for making sure you can excel at Leaving Cert Maths. This includes maths, English, and Irish, which are all compulsory subjects.
students sit the Leaving Certificate exams each year, and every single one follows the same national marking and grading system, regardless of subject level or school.
Once their exams have been marked, percentages are calculated, and students are given a grade based on the percentage, the subject, and the level. They're also given points from the Central Applications Office (CAO) for use when applying to university. Here's how they all work.
Despite being a compulsory subject, there is no standalone “pass” or “fail” requirement for Leaving Cert Maths in order to be awarded the Leaving Certificate itself. A student receives their Leaving Cert once they complete the examinations, regardless of individual subject results.
What does matter is how those results translate into CAO points, which are then used for third-level admissions. This is where confusion often arises. Failing maths does not cancel your Leaving Cert, but it can limit the range of courses you qualify for, especially those with specific maths requirements.
This distinction is crucial for students and parents to understand early, as it helps reduce unnecessary panic around results and allows for better planning around subject levels, course choices, and backup pathways.
How Leaving Cert Percentage Marks Are Calculated
The percentage marks are the easiest to calculate. If you're studying Leaving Cert Maths, you should be able to work out percentages, but if not, it's quite simple.
Take the total number of marks the student got, divide it by the total number of marks available, and multiply by 100. Both Paper 1 and Paper 2 for Leaving Cert Maths are 300 marks. Say a student got 225 marks on the exam. This would be 225 divided by 300 and then multiplied by 100. Or 225/300 x 100. This would give the student a 75% score. Of course, with two papers to consider, the percentage score for the subject would be the total marks across the papers divided by the total marks available across the papers, multiplied by 100.
Leaving Cert Grading Scale Explained
Once a student's Leaving Cert exams and assessments have been marked and their percentage scores have been calculated, they are assigned a grade. Before 2017, there was a 14-point scale, but now students' results are put into one of seven bands. The bands are numbered from 1 to 8 and preceded by H or O depending on whether the student took the higher or ordinary level.
| Grades | % Marks |
|---|---|
| H1/O1 | 90 - 100 |
| H2/O2 | 80 - 90 |
| H3/O3 | 70 - 80 |
| H4/O4 | 60 - 70 |
| H5/O5 | 50 - 60 |
| H6/O6 | 40 - 50 |
| H7/O7 | 30 - 40 |
| H8/O8 | 0 - 30 |
Leaving Cert Maths consistently causes more stress than most other subjects. This is partly because it is compulsory and partly because of its cumulative nature. Concepts build on one another over several years, meaning gaps in understanding can have a knock-on effect by sixth year.
Higher Level Maths adds another layer of pressure due to its bonus points system. Students often feel forced to stay at Higher Level for CAO reasons, even if they are struggling, which can increase anxiety and fear of failure.
Understanding how grades, points, and bonus marks actually work can significantly reduce this stress. Many students assume that failing maths has more severe consequences than it really does, which is rarely the case once the system is clearly explained.
How CAO Points Are Calculated
Once students' percentages and grades have been calculated, the Central Applications Office steps in. The Central Applications Office is responsible for university applications for undergraduate courses in Irish Higher Education Institutions. Basically, they deal with university applications for students doing the Leaving Cert. The CAO allocates points to a student's results based on the grades they have and a student's best six exams in a single sitting are used in the calculation.
| Higher Level Grade | Points | Ordinary Level Grade | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| H1 | 100 | ||
| H2 | 88 | ||
| H3 | 77 | ||
| H4 | 66 | ||
| H5 | 56 | O1 | 56 |
| H6 | 46 | O2 | 46 |
| H7 | 37 | O3 | 37 |
| H8 | 0 | O4 | 28 |
| O5 | 20 | ||
| O6 | 12 | ||
| O7 | 0 | ||
| O8 | 0 |
For example, the highest grade, H1, is worth 100 points. The lowest grade is 0 points. Since Higher Level and Ordinary Level offer different challenges, the points awarded for each aren't the same. The highest Ordinary Level (O1) grade is given 56 points, while the two lowest (O7 and O8) are both given 0 points. The Higher Level grades H1 through to H7 are all awarded points, and only the H8 grade is given 0 points.
Higher Level Maths Bonus Points Explained
Due to its difficulty, 25 bonus points are available in Higher Level Maths for students who achieve a grade above H6. This means a total of 125 points is available for Leaving Cert Maths, and the best CAO score a student can get for their Leaving Cert is 625, though a student not taking Higher Level Leaving Cert Maths would only be mathematically able to achieve 600 points. In either case, these are both very good results for the student and are enough to get them onto most undergraduate university courses.
CAO points are available for Higher Level Maths when bonus points are included, making it the single highest-value subject on the Leaving Cert curriculum.
University Admissions and CAO Applications
For Irish students to apply to university or third-level education in Ireland, most will go through the Central Applications Office (CAO).
Institutions include the four National University of Ireland (NUI) universities, the University of Dublin (Trinity College Dublin), the University of Limerick (UL), Dublin City University (DCU), and the RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences. There are also 5 technological universities and 2 institutes of technology. Students have to pay between €30 and €60 for their applications, depending on when they apply, with discounts for earlier applications.
Is It Possible to Fail the Leaving Cert?
There isn't really a fail at Leaving Cert. Instead, students are awarded 0 points for certain grades (as we saw earlier), and the number of points you need depends on the course you're applying for. For example, the Mathematics course at Trinity College Dublin requires at least 589 CAO points and not every applicant at this level was given a place.
You wouldn't be able to fail a single subject and get this many points. After all, even getting 100 points in every other subject would give you 500. If you passed maths and got the 125 points (including the bonus points) and received 0 points in another subject, you still wouldn't have enough points. However, to study religion, Trinity only requires 343 points, which means you could technically get 0 points in two of the six subjects, provided you achieved very high grades in the other four.
What Happens If You Fail Maths in the Leaving Cert?
In short, nothing really special happens if you “fail” maths in the Leaving Cert. You'll be given 0 points for maths, but there are still courses you'll have enough points for. It's not great for your application on a maths course to have 0 points for Leaving Cert Maths, but your maths results at Leaving Cert won't automatically make you “fail”.
While failing Leaving Cert Maths does not invalidate your Leaving Cert, there are situations where maths results carry extra weight. Many third-level courses, particularly in engineering, science, computing, business, and education, have minimum maths grade requirements in addition to CAO points.
In these cases, even a strong overall CAO score may not be enough if the required maths threshold is not met. This is why students considering maths-heavy courses should check specific entry requirements, not just points totals.
For students who fall short, options such as repeating the Leaving Cert, taking a PLC course with progression routes, or sitting recognised maths alternatives can still keep university pathways open.
Repeating the Leaving Cert to Improve Results
If you're unhappy with your results, can't get on the university course you want, or are just looking to improve, then you can always repeat the Leaving Cert, spending more time studying and using better study resources.
This will mean that you'll have to do the other subjects, too, and you can't just repeat Leaving Cert Maths to improve your grades. Fortunately, even if you repeat the Leaving Cert and end up with a lower CAO score, your previous and higher score is still accepted. If your CAO score improves, universities will accept the more recent score.
Other Options After the Leaving Cert
You mightn't even need to go to university or attend third-level education. While maths is certainly one of the more academic subjects available for the Leaving Cert, you might decide to do something else for your career.
There are lots of options for students who've finished their Leaving Cert, and while university is often presented as the “best” option, what's right for one person mightn't be right for another. If you don't get the CAO points needed to get into university, you always have other options.
CAO-listed courses across Irish universities, technological universities, and institutes of technology do not require a minimum maths grade for entry.
Appealing Your Leaving Cert Results
You can appeal your Leaving Cert results, but this is only if you believe there's been an error in the grading process. You can't just appeal results because you didn't get the results that you wanted!
How to Study for Leaving Cert Maths
The best way to get the results that you want for Leaving Cert Maths is by studying the topics that are on the syllabus, familiarising yourself with the exam format, and adequately preparing for the exams.
Best Resources for Studying Leaving Cert Maths
The first resource you should look at is the Leaving Cert Maths syllabus, as this includes every mathematical topic (called "strands" on the syllabus) that you need to know. Your teachers should also know what's on the syllabus and have planned the course and their lessons accordingly. However, it's also good for you to know what you'll be expected to have studied for the exam.
You should also look at past papers and mock exams, as this is what you're really being tested on: your ability to answer the questions and problems on the Leaving Cert Maths Paper 1 and Paper 2.
There are plenty of websites with past papers, flashcards, notes, and tutorials for Leaving Cert Maths.
Getting Help from a Private Maths Tutor
You can also enlist the help of a private maths tutor. On the Superprof website, you just have to search for maths, and you can start browsing the profiles of both local and online tutors. Since you'll be studying maths specifically for the Leaving Cert, it makes sense to look for local tutors or online tutors who are familiar with the Leaving Cert. Many of the tutors offer the first lesson for free, so you can try a few out before choosing the tutor that's right for you.
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Remember that all undergraduate students must meet these entry requirements when applying to Trinity:
A pass in mathematics
A pass in English
A pass in a language other than English. tcd.ie