Many Irish students in secondary school study for the Leaving Certificate. Commonly referred to as the Leaving Cert, it's used to gain access to higher education institutions like universities and colleges.
While students are given grades for the subjects they take, these grades are converted into points based on the subjects and papers they did, and then used by universities and other institutions to decide a student's eligibility for courses.
So how does it all work, how many points do you need, and can you even pass or fail the Leaving Cert?
The answers to these questions and more are in this guide.
The Leaving Cert Points
Before 2017, the Leaving Cert had 14 grades or bands. Numbered and letters, the system was hardly elegant and while the newer system isn't perfect, it is much easier to work out how many points a student gets for each subject and roughly what each grade means.
Depending on whether a student does a Higher Level (HL) or Ordinary Level (OL) paper, they're given a grade from 1 to 8, with 1 being the highest and 8 being the lowest.
The higher level grades are indicated by an H and go from H1 to H8. Ordinary level grades are from O1 to O8.
As higher papers are more academically challenging than ordinary papers, the H grades are given more points than their O equivalents. An H1 is not equal to an O1. H5 is equivalent to an O1 in terms of points and this is where the grades start to line up.
However, as you'll see in the below table, while an H8 should line up with an O4, the former is given 0 points while the latter awards 28 points.
| 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 |
Obligatory Subjects at Leaving Cert
Unless a student has an exemption, they'll have to study Maths, English, and Irish at Leaving Cert. Beyond that, students will typically be able to choose all their other subjects.
Some schools may have other obligatory subjects for their students or combinations of subjects that are impossible simply due to scheduling or resources.
What is a Pass in Leaving Cert?
The terms “pass” and “fail” aren't really used in the Leaving Cert and nor are they particularly useful.
It's a common misconception amongst students that there are passes and fails, especially when it comes to maths.
Some students believe that failing maths will cause them to fail their entire Leaving Cert. However, you can't "fail" a subject and nor can you fail the Leaving Cert as a whole.
Instead, success and failure at Leaving Cert is down to the individual student, their academic expectations, and what they'd like to do academically or professionally after secondary school.
Students should want to get the best possible results for their Leaving Cert, but adding “pass” or “fail” labels to their results isn't accurate or useful.
If you must call any result a “fail”, then you could say that an H8, O7, or O8 is the closest equivalent since you've missed out on an opportunity to gain some useful points for university applications.
However, with only your six best subjects counting towards your overall score, you still could technically get a perfect points haul while having “failed” a subject. Find out exactly when is Leaving Cert results day, and put your mind at ease over the summer months!
The Maximum Leaving Cert Points
Speaking of a perfect points haul at Leaving Cert, how many points is the maximum?
With six subjects being counted towards your points, you might think that 600 points is the maximum. However, with Higher Level Mathematics offering an additional 25 bonus points for a grade of H6 or higher, the maximum achievable points haul is 625.
Several courses require a full 625 points. These are all at Trinity College and include dental science, management science and information systems, and economics and history.
Trinity also has eight courses that require more than 600 points: medicine, actuarial and financial, economics and finance, and biomedical and health science.
While this means you don't necessarily need six perfect 100-point subjects, you do need H1 grades in almost every subject plus the bonus points for Higher Level maths.
Is 30% a Pass in the Leaving Cert?
The very last grade or both higher and ordinary papers (H8 and O8 respectively) is less than 30%. The O7 grade is for 30%-40% (technically 39.99%) and also awards 0 points.
Due to these grades awarding 0 points, students tend to think that 30% is the pass mark for higher papers and 40% for ordinary papers.
Again, with no “pass” or “fail” grades being given at Leaving Cert, it's all a question of terminology. If you get less than 30% on a higher paper or 40% on an ordinary paper, you won't get any points.
Nothing more, nothing less.
Is it Hard to Get 300 Points in the Leaving Cert?
Many years ago, 300 points were typically the median. When the older points system was first introduced, 52% of students had more than 300 points in their Leaving Cert while the remaining 48% had less.
Nowadays, because of grade inflation, the median number of Leaving Cert points awarded is closer to between 400 and 419.
We can't say if this is because Leaving Cert exams are getting easier or students are opting for the easier Leaving Cert subjects, but it doesn't matter. Universities and educational institutions are aware of this and when grades or Leaving Cert points go up, they tend to increase the number of points they require for their courses.
With around half of all students getting over 400 points, the vast majority of students at Leaving Cert will get more than 300 points.
It's certainly a lot harder if you intend on taking the most difficult subjects. Just remember that the number you should be aiming for is the amount that you'll need to do the course that you want.
How Many Points Do You Need to Go to University?
Typically, more than 400 points will be enough for a range of different university courses.
The more exclusive courses ask for between 500 and 600 points and the most exclusive courses ask for over 600 points.
Most of the courses at the University of Galway, for example, are in the 500- and 600-point range. Trinity College, as we've seen, has many courses that ask for more than 600.
Have a look around at the courses that you'd be interested in and see how many points they ask for and if you have any doubts, you can always ask someone at your school to give you a better idea of the Leaving Cert points you'd be expected to get based on your previous and current academic performance.
Get Help Studying for Your Leaving Cert with a Private Tutor
If you need or would like help studying for your Leaving Cert, simply search for tutors on the Superprof website.
Whether it's for a specific subject or study skills in general, a private tutor can work with you directly and ensure that everything you do is tailored to you, your strengths and weaknesses, and how you like to work and study.
Through the Superprof website, there are three ways to enjoy tutoring: face-to-face, online, or in groups.
Each type of private tutoring has its pros and cons and it's up to you to choose which one will work best for you, your schedule, your budget, and how you like to learn.
Typically, a face-to-face private tutor will charge more than the other types, but they typically offer the most cost-effective tuition. After all, every minute of every session can be spent focused on you and what you need to learn. Many face-to-face tutors will travel to their students' homes, hence the increased cost.
Online tutors don't need to travel to their students' homes and this saves them both time and money. They can schedule more students each week and it costs them less per session, making them often more affordable. For many academic subjects, they can be just as effective as face-to-face tutors.
Group tutoring can't offer the same benefits as one-on-one tutoring, but it can offer tutoring at much more affordable rates. Splitting the cost of a tutor's time and expertise between several students works out cheaper per student per hour.
Think about your budget and how you learn best when browsing for tutors on the Superprof website and remember that many offer the first session for free.
You can use these free sessions to test out different potential tutors before choosing the right one for you and what you need to learn to get the best possible results for your Leaving Cert. We recommend making a list of what you're looking for in a private tutor before you start your search and initially only contacting the tutors that meet your selection criteria.
To start finding the right tutor, just search for what you want to learn on the Superprof site!
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