The Leaving Certificate, made legible.

15 · Topics mapped

1. 01

   Comprehending

   The first of the two organising concepts of the syllabus: reading and responding critically to a wide range of spoken, written and multimodal texts to understand, analyse, infer, synthesise and evaluate meaning across different contexts.

2. 02

   Composing

   The second organising concept: producing extended writing and other texts in a range of forms and registers, shaping language purposefully for different audiences, purposes and effects.

3. 03

   Oral Language and Oracy

   Developing students' spoken-language skills through discussion, debate, oral presentation and performance, treated as integral to learning even though it is not separately examined.

4. 04

   The Language of Information

   One of the five language genres: the use of clear, factual, explanatory language to demonstrate, define, report and inform an audience.

5. 05

   The Language of Argument

   The genre of reasoned discourse that builds and defends a logical case through evidence, structure and clear lines of reasoning.

6. 06

   The Language of Persuasion

   The genre that uses rhetorical and emotive techniques to influence, convince and move an audience, as in speeches, advertising and opinion writing.

7. 07

   The Language of Narration

   The genre of storytelling, ordering events and shaping voice and perspective to recount real or imagined experience.

8. 08

   The Aesthetic Use of Language

   The creative, descriptive and literary use of language to evoke imagery, mood and emotion through stylistic and figurative craft.

9. 09

   Comprehending Texts (Paper 1, Section I)

   Reading study of a thematically linked group of texts, answering analytical comprehension questions (Question A) and producing a related functional or creative response (Question B).

10. 10

    Composing Tasks (Paper 1, Section II)

    Writing an extended composition chosen from a set of titles spanning forms such as the short story, personal essay, descriptive essay, speech, article and discursive writing.

11. 11

    The Single Text

    An in-depth study of one prescribed literary text (novel, play or other work) chosen from the Department's list, examined in Paper 2, Section I.

12. 12

    The Comparative Study

    Comparative analysis of three prescribed texts across the official modes of comparison, including Cultural Context, Literary Genre, Theme or Issue, and General Vision and Viewpoint.

13. 13

    Prescribed Poetry

    Study of the work of set poets prescribed for the examination, analysing themes, style and technique in their selected poems (Paper 2).

14. 14

    Unseen Poetry

    Critical response to a previously unstudied poem, demonstrating the ability to read, interpret and appreciate poetry independently (Paper 2).

15. 15

    Studying Literature

    The overarching literature strand drawing together drama, fiction, poetry and film as objects of close critical reading, personal response and contextual understanding.

14 · Topics mapped

1. 01

   Éisteacht (Listening / Aural Comprehension)

   Developing the skill of understanding spoken Irish across dialects, assessed in the cluastuiscint with recorded conversations, news items and announcements.

2. 02

   Labhairt (Speaking / Oral Production)

   Building fluent, accurate spoken Irish for conversation and self-expression, the foundation of the oral examination worth 40% of the marks.

3. 03

   Léitheoireacht (Reading Comprehension)

   Reading and interpreting Irish-language texts, with comprehension passages drawn from current affairs, culture and biographical writing.

4. 04

   Scríobh (Writing / Composition)

   Producing extended written Irish in formats such as essay, story, newspaper or magazine article, blog, letter and debate or speech.

5. 05

   The Comhrá / Oral Conversation

   Sustained spoken interaction with an examiner on personal, social and topical themes, assessing fluency, vocabulary, accuracy and communication.

6. 06

   An tSraith Pictiúr (Picture Sequence)

   Narrating and describing a sequence of pictures aloud in the oral exam, demonstrating range of structures, tenses and connected speech.

7. 07

   Aithriseoireacht / Filíocht Bhéil (Recitation of Poetry)

   Reciting prescribed verse aloud as part of the oral assessment, showing pronunciation, rhythm and engagement with the poem.

8. 08

   Communicative Themes and Topics

   Functional language across themes such as family, relationships, school, social issues, the environment and global concerns linked to Irish life.

9. 09

   Grammar and Language Accuracy (An Ghramadach)

   Mastery of Irish grammar, including verbs, tenses, the modh coinníollach, séimhiú and urú, and the tuiseal ginideach, applied across all skills.

10. 10

    Prós Ainmnithe (Prescribed Prose)

    Study of set prose texts, including short stories and prose passages on the prescribed literature course, with analysis in the written exam.

11. 11

    Filíocht Ainmnithe (Prescribed Poetry)

    Study of prescribed poems, examining themes, imagery, language and personal response in the Paper 2 poetry questions.

12. 12

    Drámaíocht (Drama)

    Study of a prescribed play, such as An Triail at Higher Level, exploring plot, character, theme and dramatic technique.

13. 13

    Litríocht Bhreise (Additional Literature)

    Higher Level engagement with a wider literary reading or an unseen poem, requiring independent analysis beyond the core prescribed texts.

14. 14

    Cultúr agus Saíocht na Gaeilge (Irish Culture and Heritage)

    Insight into Irish cultural, literary and social heritage to foster a positive attitude towards the language and the Gaeltacht.

21 · Topics mapped

1. 01

   Strand 1.1 Counting

   Systematically listing and counting the possible outcomes of experiments as the groundwork for probability.

2. 02

   Strand 1.2 Concepts of Probability

   Understanding probability as the relative frequency or theoretical likelihood of events, including the use of fair and biased situations.

3. 03

   Strand 1.3 Outcomes of Random Processes

   Calculating probabilities for single and combined random events, including expected value and the rules for combining events.

4. 04

   Strand 1.4 Statistical Reasoning with an Aim to Becoming a Statistically Aware Consumer

   Engaging critically with statistics encountered in everyday life and evaluating how data and statistical claims are presented.

5. 05

   Strand 1.5 Finding, Collecting and Organising Data

   Designing data investigations and gathering, classifying and organising primary and secondary data appropriately.

6. 06

   Strand 1.6 Representing Data Graphically and Numerically

   Displaying data with suitable charts and graphs and summarising it using measures of centre and spread.

7. 07

   Strand 1.7 Analysing, Interpreting and Drawing Conclusions from Data

   Drawing valid inferences from data, recognising sampling variability and acknowledging the limitations of conclusions.

8. 08

   Strand 2.1 Synthetic Geometry

   Working with formal geometric definitions, axioms, theorems, proofs and constructions in the Euclidean tradition.

9. 09

   Strand 2.2 Co-ordinate Geometry

   Using the Cartesian plane to analyse lines and circles algebraically, including distance, slope, equations and intersections.

10. 10

    Strand 2.3 Trigonometry

    Solving problems involving angles, lengths and areas using trigonometric ratios, identities and the sine and cosine rules.

11. 11

    Strand 2.4 Transformation Geometry, Enlargements

    Investigating transformations of figures, with particular attention to enlargements and the effects of scale factor.

12. 12

    Strand 3.1 Number Systems

    Extending fluency across natural numbers, integers, rationals, reals and complex numbers and reasoning about their properties.

13. 13

    Strand 3.2 Indices

    Manipulating expressions involving integer, rational and other indices and applying the laws of exponents.

14. 14

    Strand 3.3 Arithmetic

    Applying numerical and proportional reasoning to real contexts including financial mathematics, ratio, rates and error.

15. 15

    Strand 3.4 Length, Area and Volume

    Calculating perimeters, areas and volumes of two- and three-dimensional shapes and applying these in practical problems.

16. 16

    Strand 4.1 Expressions

    Generating, representing and manipulating algebraic expressions, formulae and patterns, including factorising and rearranging.

17. 17

    Strand 4.2 Solving Equations

    Solving linear, quadratic, simultaneous and other equations and forming equations to model situations.

18. 18

    Strand 4.3 Inequalities

    Solving and representing linear and quadratic inequalities and interpreting their solution sets.

19. 19

    Strand 4.4 Complex Numbers

    Performing operations on complex numbers and representing them on the Argand diagram, including their geometric meaning.

20. 20

    Strand 5.1 Functions

    Understanding functions, their domain, range and graphs, and using different families of functions to model relationships.

21. 21

    Strand 5.2 Calculus

    Using differentiation and integration to analyse rates of change, slopes, maxima and minima, and areas.

16 · Topics mapped

1. 01

   Mathematical Modelling (the problem-solving cycle)

   The unifying strand in which learners use a systematic, iterative cycle to formulate real-world problems, translate them into mathematics, compute solutions and evaluate and refine them.

2. 02

   Formulating and Translating Problems

   Researching a problem's background, identifying relevant variables, decomposing it into manageable parts, making simplifying assumptions and abstracting the knowledge needed to build a model.

3. 03

   Networks and Graphs

   Representing real situations as networks, using terminology such as vertex, edge, weight, path and cycle, and distinguishing connected/disconnected and directed/undirected graphs.

4. 04

   Matrices and Adjacency

   Representing graphs with adjacency matrices, reconstructing graphs from them, performing square-matrix multiplication and interpreting matrix products.

5. 05

   Minimum Spanning Trees and Optimisation Algorithms

   Understanding trees and spanning trees and applying Kruskal's and Prim's algorithms to optimise networks, including reasoning about greedy versus dynamic-programming approaches.

6. 06

   Dynamic Programming and Shortest Paths

   Applying Bellman's Principle of Optimality and Dijkstra's algorithm to find shortest paths in weighted networks for multi-stage problems such as routing, stock control and resource allocation.

7. 07

   Project Scheduling Networks

   Applying network analysis to project scheduling using critical path, early and late times and floats to plan and optimise activities.

8. 08

   Kinematics: Motion in One Dimension

   Describing particle motion using displacement, velocity, acceleration and time, with displacement-time and velocity-time graphs and the constant-acceleration equations of motion.

9. 09

   Calculus Applied to Motion

   Interpreting velocity and acceleration as derivatives, using differentiation, the chain rule and integration to relate the motion quantities, and deriving the kinematic formulae via calculus.

10. 10

    Vectors and Projectile Motion

    Using elementary vector algebra and calculus to represent motion in two dimensions and to solve projectile problems involving time of flight, maximum height and range.

11. 11

    Forces and Newton's Laws

    Drawing free-body diagrams and applying Newton's laws in vector form to find resultant forces and solve dynamics problems on smooth and rough horizontal and inclined planes, including friction and resistive (drag) forces.

12. 12

    Momentum, Impulse and Collisions

    Applying conservation of momentum, impulse and Newton's experimental law to elastic and inelastic collisions in one and two dimensions, including connected masses and the coefficient of restitution.

13. 13

    Work, Energy and Circular Motion

    Using work, kinetic and gravitational potential energy and conservation of energy (including elastic springs and strings) to analyse motion, plus the dynamics of a particle in horizontal or vertical circular motion.

14. 14

    Difference Equations (incremental change)

    Using recurrence relations and first- and second-order difference equations to model discretely changing phenomena such as Malthusian and restricted growth, loan repayment, supply and demand and the spread of disease.

15. 15

    Differential Equations (continuous change)

    Deriving and solving differential equations (separable first-order, and second-order reducible to first-order) using analytic, numerical and graphical methods to model continuously changing phenomena and interpreting the solutions in context.

16. 16

    The Modelling Project

    A coursework component based on an annual SEC brief in which students complete the full modelling cycle for an authentic real-world problem and submit a written report worth 20% of the grade.

18 · Topics mapped

1. 01

   The Scientific Method and the Characteristics of Life

   Introduces how biologists work through experiment, observation and theory, and the defining features common to all living organisms.

2. 02

   Food and Nutrition (Biomolecules)

   Covers the chemical building blocks of life — carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, vitamins, minerals and water — and their roles in living things.

3. 03

   Ecology and the Study of an Ecosystem

   Examines how organisms interact with each other and their environment, including nutrient cycles, energy flow, populations, pollution and a practical investigation of a local habitat.

4. 04

   Cell Structure and Cell Diversity

   Explores the ultrastructure of plant and animal cells, organelles, the cell as a unit of life, and how cells differentiate into tissues and organs.

5. 05

   Enzymes and Energy Carriers

   Looks at the structure, action and control of enzymes as biological catalysts and the role of ATP in cellular energy transfer.

6. 06

   Photosynthesis and Respiration

   Studies how cells capture and release energy, comparing the light and dark stages of photosynthesis with aerobic and anaerobic respiration.

7. 07

   Movement Through Cell Membranes

   Explains diffusion, osmosis and active transport as the means by which substances pass into and out of cells.

8. 08

   Cell Continuity and Cell Division

   Covers the cell cycle, mitosis and meiosis, and their importance in growth, repair and the production of gametes.

9. 09

   DNA, Genetics and Heredity

   Investigates the structure and replication of DNA, protein synthesis, the laws of inheritance and the working of monohybrid genetic crosses.

10. 10

    Variation, Evolution and Genetic Engineering

    Examines sources of genetic variation, the theory of evolution by natural selection, and applications and ethics of modern genetic engineering.

11. 11

    Diversity of Organisms (Five Kingdoms)

    Surveys the classification of living things and detailed study of bacteria (Monera), a protist, a fungus and the structure of viruses.

12. 12

    Structure and Transport in the Flowering Plant

    Examines plant tissues, organs and the transport of water, minerals and food through the vascular system of flowering plants.

13. 13

    Human Nutrition and the Digestive System

    Covers a balanced human diet and the structure and functioning of the alimentary canal in processing and absorbing food.

14. 14

    Circulation and the Human Defence System

    Studies the heart, blood vessels and composition of blood, together with the body's defences against disease, including immunity and the lymphatic system.

15. 15

    Breathing, Excretion and Homeostasis

    Looks at gas exchange and the breathing system, removal of metabolic waste by the kidney and skin, and the maintenance of a stable internal environment.

16. 16

    Coordination: Nervous, Sensory and Endocrine Systems

    Examines how the body detects and responds to stimuli through the nervous system, sense organs and chemical control by hormones.

17. 17

    Support, Movement and the Musculoskeletal System

    Covers the human skeleton, joints, muscles and the principles of support and locomotion, including plant responses to stimuli.

18. 18

    Reproduction in Plants and Humans

    Studies sexual reproduction in the flowering plant and the structure, functioning and development of the human reproductive systems.

13 · Topics mapped

1. 01

   Periodic Table and Atomic Structure

   Development of the periodic table and atomic models, atomic structure, radioactivity, electronic configuration of atoms, and oxidation and reduction concepts.

2. 02

   Chemical Bonding

   How atoms combine through ionic and covalent bonding, electronegativity, intermolecular forces, and the prediction of molecular shapes.

3. 03

   Stoichiometry, Formulas and Equations

   States of matter and the gas laws, the mole concept, determining chemical formulas, and quantitative calculations from balanced chemical equations.

4. 04

   Volumetric Analysis

   Expressing concentration of solutions, the theory of acids and bases, and carrying out titrations to determine unknown concentrations quantitatively.

5. 05

   Fuels and Heats of Reaction

   Sources and structure of hydrocarbons including aliphatic and aromatic compounds, oil refining, exothermic and endothermic reactions, and heats of reaction.

6. 06

   Rates of Reaction

   The factors that affect how fast chemical reactions proceed, including concentration, temperature, surface area and catalysts, and reaction-rate theory.

7. 07

   Organic Chemistry

   Structure and bonding of carbon compounds, families of organic compounds, characteristic reactions and mechanisms, and key organic chemical reactions including polymerisation.

8. 08

   Chemical Equilibrium

   Reversible reactions and dynamic equilibrium, the equilibrium constant, and how systems respond to changes in conditions (Le Chatelier's principle).

9. 09

   Environmental Chemistry: Water

   The chemistry of water, including hardness, water treatment, water-quality parameters such as pH and dissolved oxygen, and instrumental analysis of water.

10. 10

    Option 1A: Additional Industrial Chemistry

    An optional study extending the core through general principles of the chemical industry and a case study of a specific Irish-based chemical manufacturing process.

11. 11

    Option 1B: Atmospheric Chemistry

    An optional study of the chemistry of the atmosphere, covering oxygen, nitrogen and carbon compounds, ozone, and atmospheric pollution and its effects.

12. 12

    Option 2A: Materials

    An optional study of the structure and properties of materials such as crystals, metals, semiconductors, and the chemistry underlying their uses.

13. 13

    Option 2B: Additional Electrochemistry and the Extraction of Metals

    An optional study of the electrochemical series, electrolysis, corrosion of metals, and the chemical principles used to extract metals from their ores.

10 · Topics mapped

1. 01

   Mechanics

   Linear motion, vectors and scalars, forces and Newton's laws, momentum, gravity, density and pressure, moments and equilibrium, plus work, energy and power.

2. 02

   Temperature

   The concept of temperature as a measure of hotness, thermometric properties, temperature scales and the calibration and use of thermometers.

3. 03

   Heat

   Heat as a form of energy, heat capacity and specific heat capacity, latent heat, and the three modes of heat transfer (conduction, convection and radiation).

4. 04

   Waves

   Properties of longitudinal and transverse waves, wave phenomena such as reflection, refraction, diffraction and interference, stationary waves, and the Doppler effect.

5. 05

   Vibrations and Sound

   The wave nature of sound, characteristics of musical notes including frequency and intensity, resonance, the speed of sound, and acoustic applications.

6. 06

   Light

   Reflection by mirrors, refraction and total internal reflection, lenses and image formation, the electromagnetic spectrum, and the wave nature of light including diffraction and interference.

7. 07

   Electricity

   Static electricity and electric fields, potential difference and capacitance, current electricity, resistance and circuits, electromagnetism and induction, and domestic/applied electricity.

8. 08

   Modern Physics

   The electron, thermionic and photoelectric emission, X-rays, the structure of the atom and nucleus, radioactivity, and nuclear energy through fission and fusion.

9. 09

   Option 1: Particle Physics

   Extension option covering the development of models of the atom, fundamental forces and particles, antimatter, accelerators and the quark model of matter.

10. 10

    Option 2: Applied Electricity

    Alternative extension option covering magnetic effects of currents, alternating current and devices, plus semiconductors and basic electronics including diodes and transistors.

18 · Topics mapped

1. 01

   Meeting people and maintaining social relations

   Communicating in everyday social encounters such as introducing oneself, greeting others, and sustaining friendly relationships in French.

2. 02

   Making plans and discussing future action

   Talking about intentions, arrangements and future activities, including holidays, careers and upcoming events.

3. 03

   Climate and weather

   Understanding, seeking and giving information about weather conditions and climate in French-speaking contexts.

4. 04

   Travel and transport

   Coping with situations involving journeys, getting around, and using different modes of transport while abroad.

5. 05

   Buying goods and services

   Handling transactions such as shopping, ordering food and arranging services in French.

6. 06

   Dealing with emergencies

   Managing unexpected or urgent situations, such as accidents, illness or loss, and seeking appropriate help.

7. 07

   Influencing a course of action

   Facilitating, encouraging, persuading or discouraging others in relation to a planned activity or decision.

8. 08

   Expressing feelings and attitudes

   Understanding and conveying emotions, opinions and personal attitudes in spoken and written French.

9. 09

   Managing a conversation

   Initiating, sustaining, interrupting and closing conversations appropriately according to register and situation.

10. 10

    Engaging in discussion

    Taking part in discussions on issues and topics, presenting and defending points of view in French.

11. 11

    Passing on messages

    Relaying information and messages accurately to and from others in everyday communicative situations.

12. 12

    Learning about language

    Developing awareness of how the French language works by studying authentic target-language material.

13. 13

    Exploring meaning and register

    Examining how meaning is shaped by context, tone and choice of language, and relating language to attitude.

14. 14

    Reflecting on language learning and using reference tools

    Reviewing one's own experience of learning French and using dictionaries, grammars and reference materials effectively.

15. 15

    Present-day French culture

    Learning, through French, about contemporary life, society and culture in French-speaking communities.

16. 16

    Reading modern literary texts

    Engaging with modern literary texts in French to develop reading skills and cultural understanding.

17. 17

    Everyday life and Franco-Irish relations

    Describing and discussing daily life in French-speaking communities and understanding their connections with Ireland.

18. 18

    Issues transcending cultural divisions

    Exploring contemporary themes and concerns shared across cultures, such as the environment and social issues.

18 · Topics mapped

1. 01

   Meeting people and maintaining social relations

   Introducing oneself and others, getting acquainted, and using everyday courtesies to start, sustain and close social contact in German.

2. 02

   Making plans and discussing future action

   Talking and writing about intentions, arrangements and future events, including invitations, suggestions and travel or career plans.

3. 03

   Climate and weather

   Understanding, seeking and giving information about weather conditions and climate, including forecasts and seasonal descriptions.

4. 04

   Travel and transport

   Coping with the practicalities of getting around by various means of transport, asking for directions, and handling journeys and itineraries.

5. 05

   Buying goods and services

   Managing shopping and transactions such as prices, quantities, ordering and dealing with services in German-speaking settings.

6. 06

   Dealing with emergencies

   Recognising, reporting and responding to accidents, problems and urgent situations, and seeking or offering help.

7. 07

   Influencing a course of action

   Facilitating, encouraging, persuading or impeding actions by giving advice, instructions, warnings and requests.

8. 08

   Expressing feelings and attitudes

   Understanding and conveying emotions, opinions, preferences, agreement and disagreement in personal and social contexts.

9. 09

   Managing a conversation

   Sustaining spoken interaction by opening, holding and yielding turns, checking understanding, clarifying and repairing communication.

10. 10

    Engaging in discussion

    Taking part in extended discussion of topics and issues, presenting points of view and responding to those of others.

11. 11

    Passing on messages

    Relaying, summarising and reporting information received from others in spoken or written form.

12. 12

    Linguistic skills: structures and grammar

    Building the grammatical knowledge and structural exponents needed to realise the communicative performance targets across all themes.

13. 13

    Learning about language from target-language material

    Using authentic German texts to explore language as a social, regional and educational phenomenon and how language changes over time.

14. 14

    Exploring and relating language to meaning and attitude

    Examining how meaning is organised and how choices of language reflect register, attitude and tone.

15. 15

    Reflecting on your experience of learning German

    Talking and writing about one's own encounter with the language and developing strategies for effective, autonomous language learning.

16. 16

    Consulting reference materials

    Using dictionaries, grammars and other reference tools to support comprehension, vocabulary growth and accuracy.

17. 17

    Culture and everyday life of the German-speaking world

    Learning about and discussing present-day life, customs, the arts, media and contemporary issues in German-speaking communities.

18. 18

    Reading literary texts and intercultural comparison

    Reading modern German literary works and a German-language film, and comparing relations and broad issues between Ireland and the target-language community.

14 · Topics mapped

1. 01

   Aims and General Outcomes

   The overarching goals of the course: building communicative competence in Spanish, awareness of how language and communication work, an understanding of how to learn a foreign language, and cultural awareness.

2. 02

   Basic Communicative Proficiency

   The core component of the syllabus, defining the practical communicative targets learners should be able to perform in Spanish, building on and reactivating the skills developed at Junior Cycle.

3. 03

   The Learner, Identity and Daily Life

   Communicating personal details, family, home, routines and immediate surroundings, including giving and seeking information about name, address, nationality and everyday activities.

4. 04

   Social Relations and Everyday Transactions

   Functional exchanges such as meeting people, making plans, shopping, ordering in restaurants, using services and managing common interactions at home and abroad.

5. 05

   Leisure, Interests and Lifestyle

   Talking about free time, hobbies, sport, holidays, travel and how everyday and seasonal conditions such as weather affect planned activities.

6. 06

   Education, Work and Future Plans

   Discussing school and study, part-time work, ambitions and career or further-study opportunities, including expressing intentions and future or conditional actions.

7. 07

   The Wider World and Contemporary Issues

   Engaging with topics of broader social, political and cultural relevance and forming and expressing opinions on matters affecting young people and society.

8. 08

   Language Awareness

   Developing an understanding of how the Spanish language and communication operate, including grammar, structures, register and strategies that underpin effective use of the language.

9. 09

   Cultural Awareness

   Raising awareness of the cultural, social and political diversity of the Spanish-speaking world and the ability to engage with its everyday and cultural realities.

10. 10

    Learning to Learn (Language-Learning Strategies)

    Acquiring strategies for effective and autonomous foreign-language learning so learners can continue to develop their Spanish beyond the classroom.

11. 11

    Listening Comprehension (Aural)

    Understanding spoken Spanish from recorded conversations, announcements, news and other extracts, answering questions on general meaning and specific detail.

12. 12

    Reading Comprehension

    Extracting meaning and specific information from a range of written texts such as signs, brochures, letters, newspaper and magazine articles and literary extracts.

13. 13

    Written Production

    Producing written Spanish across functional and discursive tasks such as notes, messages, diary entries, formal and informal letters and opinion or reaction pieces.

14. 14

    Spoken Production (Oral Examination)

    Speaking Spanish in a conversation-based examination of personal questions and role-plays, demonstrating control of tenses and the ability to communicate spontaneously.

9 · Topics mapped

1. 01

   Core Unit One – Patterns and Processes in the Physical Environment

   Studies the structure of the Earth, plate tectonics, rock formation and the rock cycle, and the surface processes of weathering, mass movement, rivers, the sea and ice that shape landforms.

2. 02

   Core Unit Two – Regional Geography

   Examines how regions are defined and develop, comparing the physical, economic, human and cultural characteristics of Irish, European and continental/subcontinental regions, including the impact of EU and global forces.

3. 03

   Core Unit Three – Geographical Investigation and Skills

   Develops fieldwork, mapping, photographic interpretation, data-collection and statistical skills, culminating in the student-led Geographical Investigation report submitted for assessment.

4. 04

   Elective Unit Four – Patterns and Processes in Economic Activities

   An elective examining the location and change of primary, secondary and tertiary economic activities, resources and energy, transport, trade, and the role of economic policy and globalisation.

5. 05

   Elective Unit Five – Patterns and Processes in the Human Environment

   An elective studying population dynamics, distribution and migration, settlement patterns, and the growth, structure and challenges of urban and rural areas.

6. 06

   Optional Unit Six – Global Interdependence

   A Higher Level option exploring models of development, global inequality and trade, the role of multinationals, NGOs and aid, and sustainability and environmental issues at a global scale.

7. 07

   Optional Unit Seven – Geoecology

   A Higher Level option on soils, soil formation and horizons, the characteristics of a chosen biome, and the human impact of deforestation, agriculture and development on ecosystems.

8. 08

   Optional Unit Eight – Culture and Identity

   A Higher Level option examining the distribution of races, the role of language and religion in identity, related cultural conflicts, and the formation of physical and political boundaries and nationality.

9. 09

   Optional Unit Nine – The Atmosphere-Ocean Environment

   A Higher Level option on the composition and dynamics of the atmosphere and oceans, the hydrological cycle, global circulation, a chosen global climate, and the evidence and causes of climate change.

18 · Topics mapped

1. 01

   The Nature of History and the Work of the Historian

   An introductory framing of how historians construct knowledge from evidence, the concepts of source criticism, perspective and historical judgement that underpin the whole course.

2. 02

   Working with Evidence: The Documents-Based Study

   Skills-based study of documentary and visual sources tied to a prescribed case-study topic, assessed by a compulsory documents question testing comprehension, comparison, criticism and contextualisation.

3. 03

   The Research Study Report (RSR)

   A self-directed investigation of a student-chosen historical question, submitted as a coursework report that develops research, evaluation and writing skills and counts toward the final grade.

4. 04

   Early Modern Field of Study, 1492-1815 (overview)

   One of the two date-bounded fields from which a student's topics are drawn, spanning exploration, reformation, plantation and the early growth of the modern state.

5. 05

   Early Modern Ireland

   Six Irish topics covering Reformation and the Tudor conquest, rebellion in Elizabethan Ireland, plantation and the struggle between kingdom and colony, colonial ascendancy and eighteenth-century tensions up to 1815.

6. 06

   Early Modern Europe and the Wider World

   Six topics on the Renaissance, the Reformations and religious conflict, expansion and exploration, the European response to the wider world, science, and the age of revolutions to 1815.

7. 07

   Later Modern Field of Study, 1815-1993 (overview)

   The second date-bounded field, tracing nationalism, industrialisation, two world wars, ideological conflict and decolonisation across Ireland, Europe and the wider world.

8. 08

   Ireland and the Union, 1815-1870

   A Later Modern Ireland topic examining the working of the Act of Union, Catholic emancipation, the Famine and the politics, economy and society of pre-Home-Rule Ireland.

9. 09

   Movements for Political and Social Reform, 1870-1914

   A Later Modern Ireland topic on land agitation, Home Rule, cultural revival, labour and the social and political mobilisation of late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Ireland.

10. 10

    The Pursuit of Sovereignty and the Impact of Partition, 1912-1949

    A Later Modern Ireland topic covering the Home Rule crisis, the Rising, War of Independence, Civil War, partition and the consolidation of the Irish state.

11. 11

    Politics and Society in Northern Ireland, 1949-1993

    A Later Modern Ireland topic on the Unionist state, civil rights, the onset of the Troubles, sectarian division and attempts at political settlement in the North.

12. 12

    Government, Economy and Society in the Republic of Ireland, 1949-1989

    A Later Modern Ireland topic analysing economic policy, social and cultural change, governance and Ireland's place in Europe in the decades after the declaration of the Republic.

13. 13

    The Irish Diaspora, 1840-1966

    A Later Modern Ireland topic on emigration, the experience of Irish communities abroad and the cultural and political influence of the diaspora on Ireland and host societies.

14. 14

    Nationalism and State Formation in Europe, 1815-1871

    A Later Modern Europe topic on the rise of nationalism, liberalism and the unification movements that reshaped the European political map after the Congress of Vienna.

15. 15

    Nation States and International Tensions, 1871-1920

    A Later Modern Europe topic on imperial rivalry, alliance systems, the First World War and the post-war reordering of Europe and the wider world.

16. 16

    Dictatorship and Democracy in Europe, 1920-1945

    A Later Modern Europe topic on the inter-war crisis, the rise of fascism and communism, the Second World War and the contest between authoritarian and democratic states (the usual prescribed documents case-study topic).

17. 17

    Division and Realignment in Europe, 1945-1992

    A Later Modern Europe topic on the Cold War, the division of Germany and Europe, European integration and the eventual collapse of the Soviet bloc.

18. 18

    The United States and the World, 1945-1989 / European Retreat from Empire

    Later Modern wider-world topics covering US foreign and domestic affairs in the Cold War era and the decolonisation and aftermath of European overseas empires.

15 · Topics mapped

1. 01

   People in Business (Unit 1)

   Section A: the principal parties in business and their relationships, co-operative and competitive interactions, areas of conflict, and how disputes are resolved through non-legislative means, contract law and consumer/industrial relations legislation.

2. 02

   Enterprise (Unit 2)

   A broad definition of enterprise across personal, business and public life, the characteristics of entrepreneurs, and innate and learned enterprise skills applied to different situations.

3. 03

   Managing 1: Management Skills (Unit 3)

   Defining management as achieving results through people, the characteristics of managers, the difference between enterprise and management, and core skills of leading, motivating and communicating.

4. 04

   Managing 1: Management Activities (Unit 3)

   The management activities of planning, organising (formal/informal structure, staffing, span of control, project teams) and controlling, including theory, principles and types.

5. 05

   Managing 2: Household and Business Manager (Unit 4)

   Comparing household and business management across finance (cash flow, sources and cost of finance, loans), insurance (principles, risks, types) and taxation (main types, basic computations, tax forms).

6. 06

   Managing 2: Human Resource Management (Unit 4)

   HR functions including recruitment and selection, employer-employee relationships, teamwork, and people development through performance appraisal and reward.

7. 07

   Managing 2: Changing Role of Management and Monitoring (Unit 4)

   Managing new relationships and technologies (empowerment, total quality management, technology impacts) and monitoring the business using final accounts, balance sheets and profitability, liquidity and debt/equity ratios.

8. 08

   Business in Action: Identifying Opportunities and Marketing (Unit 5)

   Sources of internal and external business opportunities, the new product/service development process, the marketing concept and strategy, and building the marketing mix of product, price, promotion and place.

9. 09

   Business in Action: Getting Started and Expansion (Unit 5)

   Setting up an enterprise through finance, ownership and production options and a business plan, plus the reasons, finance, implications and methods of business expansion.

10. 10

    Domestic Environment: Industry and Business Organisation (Unit 6)

    Categories of industry (agriculture, manufacturing, services, natural resources), changing business trends, and the range of business ownership types from sole trader to PLCs, co-operatives and state-owned enterprises.

11. 11

    Domestic Environment: Community, Economy and Government (Unit 6)

    Community development and local initiatives, the two-way interaction between business and the economy (inflation, interest rates, tax, employment, environment), and the Government's role as regulator and employer.

12. 12

    Domestic Environment: Social Responsibilities of Business (Unit 6)

    Ethical business practice and socially responsible behaviour at local and national level, including the cost implications of meeting ethical, social and environmental responsibilities.

13. 13

    International Environment: International Trade (Unit 7)

    The significance of international trade for the Irish economy, the changing global economy, opportunities and challenges for Irish business, and trading blocs and agreements.

14. 14

    International Environment: European Union (Unit 7)

    The importance of the EU, the purpose and impact of main EU policies and directives on Irish business, the decision-making process of the main EU institutions, and the role of interest groups.

15. 15

    International Environment: International Business (Unit 7)

    The global marketing of products and services and the development and impact of transnational companies on Irish and world trade.

18 · Topics mapped

1. 01

   Economics as a Way of Thinking

   Introduces the role of economic models, concepts and data, and develops the ability to reason and draw evidence-based conclusions like an economist.

2. 02

   The Economic Concepts of Scarcity and Choice

   Examines how limited resources force individuals, firms and governments to make choices, introducing opportunity cost and economic decision-making.

3. 03

   Economic, Social and Environmental Sustainability

   Considers how economic activity interacts with society and the environment, and what sustainable development means for present and future wellbeing.

4. 04

   The Market Economy

   Explores how buyers and sellers interact through demand and supply, and how the price mechanism coordinates economic decisions in a market.

5. 05

   The Consumer

   Analyses how consumers respond to incentives, prices and income when making purchasing decisions, including utility and elasticity of demand.

6. 06

   The Firm

   Looks at how firms make production and pricing decisions, examining costs, revenue, supply and the goals of business behaviour.

7. 07

   Government Intervention in the Market

   Investigates how governments influence markets through measures such as taxes, subsidies and price controls, altering the operation of the price mechanism.

8. 08

   Market Structures

   Uses models of competition such as perfect competition, monopoly and oligopoly to analyse pricing and competitiveness in product markets.

9. 09

   The Labour Market

   Studies the market for labour as a factor market, examining wage determination, the supply and demand for labour, and trade unions.

10. 10

    Market Failure

    Examines why markets can fail to allocate resources efficiently, including externalities, public goods and the case for government action.

11. 11

    National Income

    Introduces measurement of macroeconomic performance through national income aggregates and the circular flow of income.

12. 12

    Fiscal Policy and the Budget Framework

    Explores how government taxation and spending decisions, set within the budgetary framework, influence the wider economy.

13. 13

    Employment and Unemployment

    Analyses the causes, types and consequences of unemployment and the policies used to promote employment.

14. 14

    Monetary Policy and the Price Level

    Considers how money, interest rates and monetary policy affect inflation and the general price level.

15. 15

    The Financial Sector

    Examines the role of financial institutions and markets in the economy, including the functions of banking and the supply of credit.

16. 16

    Economic Growth and Development

    Distinguishes economic growth from development and assesses the costs and benefits of how economies grow according to their resources and values.

17. 17

    Globalisation

    Explores how interconnected economies and global integration shape economic activity, performance and policy in a small open economy like Ireland.

18. 18

    International Trade and Competitiveness

    Studies the basis for trade between countries, the benefits and costs of trade, and the factors that determine national competitiveness.

16 · Topics mapped

1. 01

   The Conceptual Framework of Accounting

   The purpose of a framework for financial reporting and the underlying accounting concepts, conventions and principles applied when preparing financial statements.

2. 02

   The Regulatory Framework of Accounting

   How financial reporting is regulated by bodies such as government, the EU, the accountancy profession and the Stock Exchange (Higher Level only).

3. 03

   Accounting Records and Double-Entry Bookkeeping

   Recording transactions through double-entry, books of original entry, the trial balance, bank reconciliation, control accounts and the correction of errors using suspense accounts.

4. 04

   Final Accounts of the Sole Trader

   Preparing the trading, profit and loss account and balance sheet for a sole trader, including adjustments and the treatment of fixed assets, depreciation and revaluation.

5. 05

   Company Accounting: Capital and Financing

   The structure of company finance covering share capital, reserves and loan capital and the issue and accounting treatment of these sources of funds.

6. 06

   Financial Statements of Limited Companies

   Preparing the final accounts of limited companies, including published accounts presented in line with reporting requirements.

7. 07

   Appreciation of Annual Reports of Public Limited Companies

   Interpreting the published annual report including the roles of directors and auditors, the directors' and auditor's reports and the information they contain (Higher Level).

8. 08

   Manufacturing Accounts and Cost Classification

   Preparing manufacturing accounts and classifying costs into prime cost, factory overheads and the distinction between fixed and variable costs.

9. 09

   Specialised and Departmental Accounts

   Accounting for departmental accounts, club and non-profit organisations, service firms and farm enterprises with their particular reporting needs.

10. 10

    Incomplete Records

    Reconstructing accounts and determining results where full double-entry records are not kept, including the use of control accounts and ratios (Higher Level).

11. 11

    Tabular Statements

    Recording the effect of a series of transactions on the elements of a balance sheet using a tabular presentation.

12. 12

    Cash Flow Statements and Forecasting

    Preparing statements of cash flow and forecasts to show how cash is generated and used across operating, investing and financing activities.

13. 13

    Analysis and Interpretation of Financial Statements

    Using ratios and other techniques to assess profitability, liquidity and gearing and to interpret the performance and position of a business.

14. 14

    Costing

    Management accounting techniques for costing including overhead apportionment and absorption, marginal costing, stock valuation and product cost determination.

15. 15

    Budgeting and Budgetary Control

    Preparing cash, production and flexible budgets and using budgetary control as a tool for planning and decision-making within a business.

16. 16

    Information Technology in Accounting

    The role and application of computers and accounting software in recording, processing and reporting accounting information.

18 · Topics mapped

1. 01

   Research Strand: Looking

   Learners develop visual-detective skills by analysing artworks, recognising styles and features, using critical and visual language, and drawing on the natural and built environment as sources of inspiration.

2. 02

   Research Strand: Recording and Documenting

   Learners gather and collate information across varied media, record visual observations through different techniques in a sketchpad, and justify their choice of media when capturing their interpretation of the world.

3. 03

   Research Strand: Experimenting and Interpretation

   Learners extract and discriminate information from research, produce an annotated visual record of their enquiry, and apply problem-solving to experiment with ideas, media and techniques.

4. 04

   Research Strand: Contextual Enquiries

   Learners situate their work within a changing social, political and ethical world, engage with recognised artists and artworks, and trace links across artists who explored similar themes.

5. 05

   Research Strand: Process (Investigation)

   Learners formulate an area of enquiry, identify sources, draft supporting studies and visual responses, and articulate and annotate a rationale for their research decisions.

6. 06

   Create Strand: Making

   Learners move from concept to realisation, interpreting primary sources such as the human figure and the environment and applying appropriate skills and techniques to create realised work from their research.

7. 07

   Create Strand: Contextual Enquiries

   Learners apply and evaluate the art elements and design principles in their making, critique their own and others' work, and translate their learning in Visual Studies into practical outcomes.

8. 08

   Create Strand: Process (Development)

   Learners describe their motivation, create and edit studies and realised work, understand the properties of chosen media, and connect research, process and decisions to the finished piece.

9. 09

   Create Strand: Realisation and Presenting

   Learners curate and present work in a considered way, and evaluate, communicate and justify the meaning and context of their chosen pieces.

10. 10

    Respond Strand: Analysis

    Learners discuss examples from Visual Studies, recognise artistic thinking and elements in their own and others' work, and question both established and new ideas.

11. 11

    Respond Strand: Contextual Enquiries

    Learners locate their own work in relation to other artwork within stylistic, social, political and ethical contexts.

12. 12

    Respond Strand: Impact and Value

    Learners value their own and others' work, argue the merit of a work using contextual evidence, and experience art through sensory and emotional responses.

13. 13

    Respond Strand: Critical and Personal Reflection / Process

    Learners reflect on the development of ideas from conception to realisation, present sustained and varied investigation of a stimulus, and synthesise and justify their visual responses and decisions.

14. 14

    The Visual Studies Framework

    A six-element lens (Context; Artists and Artworks; Analysis; Art Elements and Design Principles; Media and Areas of Practice; Innovation and Invention) used to study what was created before, during and after a period or movement.

15. 15

    Visual Studies Content Area 1: Europe and the Wider World

    The Western art canon from Romanesque/Gothic through Renaissance and Baroque to Realism/Impressionism, Modernism and Post-1960, of which one section of focus is studied for the written exam.

16. 16

    Visual Studies Content Area 2: Ireland and Its Place in the Wider World

    Significant periods of Irish art from Pre-Christian and Insular Art through Late Medieval, the Georgian period, Irish Modernism and Post-1960, of which one section of focus is studied for the written exam.

17. 17

    Visual Studies Content Area 3: Today's World

    Critical literacy and contextual inquiry into everyday art and culture across all four sections of focus: Artists Theory and Thinking, Artists Processes and Media, Art as Social Commentary, and Art and the Environment.

18. 18

    Assessment: Coursework, Practical Examination and Written Examination

    SEC assessment in three components from a shared stimulus brief: practical coursework (50%), a practical examination of up to five hours (20%) each with an artist's statement, and a 2.5-hour Visual Studies written examination (30%).

14 · Topics mapped

1. 01

   Three Core Areas of Musical Experience

   The syllabus is built on three interrelated activities — Performing, Composing and Listening — which together form an integrated approach to musical learning.

2. 02

   Performing: Solo Performance

   Candidates prepare and present prescribed pieces on a chosen instrument or voice, demonstrating technical control, accuracy and musical interpretation.

3. 03

   Performing: Group Performance and Performing Options

   Students may choose individual and/or group performing activities, presenting pieces alone, as part of an ensemble, or across two instruments.

4. 04

   Performing: Unprepared Tests

   The practical examination includes unprepared work such as sight-reading or aural tests appropriate to the candidate's chosen performing medium.

5. 05

   Composing: Melody Writing

   Candidates create and continue melodies, working with phrase structure, motif development, modulation and word-setting in the composing paper.

6. 06

   Composing: Harmony and Chord Work

   Students add chords and harmonic support to given melodies or basses, applying knowledge of chord progressions, cadences and part-writing.

7. 07

   Composing: Musical Structure and Form

   The composing strand develops understanding of how musical ideas are organised through form, structure and the conventions of different styles.

8. 08

   Listening: Prescribed Set Works

   Candidates study four prescribed set works drawn from the syllabus list, analysing their features, context, structure and stylistic characteristics.

9. 09

   Listening: Irish Music

   Students explore Irish traditional music including dance types, sean-nós singing, instruments and fusion, plus the broader history of music in Ireland.

10. 10

    Listening: Aural Skills and General Listening

    Through exposure to varied periods, styles and genres, candidates develop aural perception and respond to unseen or unfamiliar listening excerpts.

11. 11

    Higher Level Elective: Performing

    Higher candidates may take a more substantial performance as their additional 25% elective, presenting an extended repertoire in the practical examination.

12. 12

    Higher Level Elective: Composing

    Higher candidates may undertake a larger-scale composition project submitted to the SEC as their chosen elective in the final year.

13. 13

    Higher Level Elective: Listening

    Higher candidates may complete a music project worked on over fifth and sixth year and sit an additional written listening paper as their elective.

14. 14

    Course Weightings and Assessment Choice

    Each core activity carries 25%; Higher students add a 25% elective, while Ordinary students give one chosen activity a 50% weighting.

16 · Topics mapped

1. 01

   Practices and Principles

   The overarching ways of thinking and working that computer scientists use, threaded through the whole course and applied within the other two strands.

2. 02

   Computational Thinking

   Analysing problems in computational terms using abstraction, decomposition, pattern recognition and algorithmic reasoning to design solutions.

3. 03

   Reading, Writing, Testing and Modifying Programs

   Developing fluency in one or more programming languages by writing, debugging, testing and adapting code to solve problems.

4. 04

   Designing and Building Computational Artefacts

   Creatively designing and developing artefacts such as web pages, animations, simulations, games, apps and robotic systems.

5. 05

   Computer Science and Society

   Considering the ethical, historical, environmental, legal and technological dimensions and societal impact of computing.

6. 06

   Core Concepts: Abstraction

   Managing complexity by hiding detail, building models and representing problems and systems at appropriate levels of generalisation.

7. 07

   Core Concepts: Data

   How data is represented, stored, structured, organised and managed, including number systems, data types, databases and big data.

8. 08

   Core Concepts: Computer Systems

   The hardware and software making up computers, including processors, memory, operating systems, networks and the internet.

9. 09

   Core Concepts: Algorithms

   Designing, expressing, comparing and analysing step-by-step procedures for solving problems efficiently and correctly.

10. 10

    Core Concepts: Evaluation and Testing

    Judging the quality, correctness and fitness-for-purpose of solutions through systematic testing and evaluation.

11. 11

    Computer Science in Practice

    Applying the practices, principles and core concepts through collaborative teamwork on four applied learning tasks that each produce a computational artefact.

12. 12

    Applied Learning Task: Interactive Information Systems

    Building a system that collects, stores and presents information for users to interact with, such as a website or app drawing on a data source.

13. 13

    Applied Learning Task: Analytics

    Gathering, processing and analysing data to extract patterns and insights and to present meaningful results.

14. 14

    Applied Learning Task: Modelling and Simulation

    Creating computational models or simulations of real-world processes or systems to explore behaviour and outcomes.

15. 15

    Applied Learning Task: Embedded Systems

    Designing and programming systems where computing is embedded in a physical device, such as robotics or microcontroller-based projects.

16. 16

    Coursework: The Computational Thinking Task

    The SEC-set practical project carried out over the course, producing a computational artefact with supporting documentation, worth 30% of the marks.

12 · Topics mapped

1. 01

   Strand 1: Power and decision-making

   Foundational strand, studied first, introducing how power operates and how collective decisions are made, from the immediate setting of the school up to the national and European political systems.

2. 02

   Topic 1: Power and decision-making in school

   Examines the distribution of power, forms of authority and participation in decision-making within the student's own school community.

3. 03

   Topic 2: Power and decision-making at national and European level

   Explores how government, the State and European Union institutions exercise power, make laws and relate to citizens at national and EU level.

4. 04

   Strand 2: Active citizenship

   Skills-focused strand developing reflective, informed decision-making through debate and discussion and the practical capacities needed to act as an effective citizen.

5. 05

   Topic 3: Effectively contributing to communities

   Considers how individuals and groups participate in and contribute to the life of their communities and to wider civil society.

6. 06

   Topic 4: Rights and responsibilities in communication with others

   Develops the ethics and skills of respectful, evidence-based communication, deliberation and engagement with differing viewpoints.

7. 07

   Strand 3: Human rights and responsibilities

   Applies the course's foundational concepts to the principles, frameworks and contested practice of human rights and corresponding responsibilities.

8. 08

   Topic 5: Human rights and responsibilities in Ireland

   Investigates how human rights and responsibilities are understood, protected and challenged within the Irish State and society.

9. 09

   Topic 6: Human rights and responsibilities in Europe and the wider world

   Extends the study of human rights to European and international frameworks, institutions and global human-rights issues.

10. 10

    Strand 4: Globalisation and localisation

    Applies foundational concepts to the interconnected processes of globalisation and localisation and their social, cultural, economic and environmental consequences.

11. 11

    Topic 7: Globalisation and identity

    Analyses how globalisation shapes culture, economy and individual and collective identity, including responses at the local level.

12. 12

    Topic 8: Sustainable development

    Examines the concept of sustainable development and the balancing of economic, social and environmental goals locally and globally.

10 · Topics mapped

1. 01

   Section A: The Search for Meaning and Values

   Compulsory introductory section exploring the human search for meaning, the experience of faith and unbelief, and how worldviews and values shape life in a changing world.

2. 02

   Section B: Christianity — Origins and Contemporary Expressions

   Examines the historical and cultural origins of Christianity, the life and message of Jesus, the development of the early Church, and the variety of contemporary Christian denominations and expression.

3. 03

   Section C: World Religions

   Studies the foundational beliefs, practices, sacred texts and historical development of major world religions and their place in human experience.

4. 04

   Section D: Moral Decision-Making

   Investigates how people make ethical choices, the sources and influences shaping conscience and morality, and the role of religious traditions in moral reasoning.

5. 05

   Section E: Religion and Gender

   Explores the relationship between religion and understandings of gender, the roles and representation of women and men in religious traditions, and feminist critiques of religion.

6. 06

   Section F: Issues of Justice and Peace

   Considers religious responses to questions of justice, poverty, human rights and peace, and the contribution of faith communities to social transformation.

7. 07

   Section G: Worship, Prayer and Ritual

   Examines the nature and forms of worship, prayer and ritual across religious traditions and their significance in the lives of believers and communities.

8. 08

   Section H: The Bible — Literature and Sacred Text

   Studies the Bible as both a literary work and a sacred text, including its composition, interpretation, and its meaning for believing communities.

9. 09

   Section I: Religion — the Irish Experience

   Explores the distinctive history and development of religion in Ireland, its cultural and social influence, and contemporary religious life on the island.

10. 10

    Section J: Religion and Science

    Investigates the historical and contemporary relationship between religion and science, areas of conflict and dialogue, and questions about origins, ethics and ways of knowing.

13 · Topics mapped

1. 01

   Core 1 – Food Studies: Food Science and Nutrition

   Study of the chemical and nutritional properties of nutrients (proteins, carbohydrates, lipids, vitamins, minerals, water) and their roles, sources and effects of processing on the body.

2. 02

   Core 1 – Diet and Health

   Examination of dietary requirements across the lifecycle, the Irish diet, energy balance, and diet-related health problems such as obesity, heart disease and diabetes.

3. 03

   Core 1 – Food Commodities and Preparation

   Properties, dietary value, choice and culinary use of food commodities (meat, fish, eggs, milk, cereals, fruit and vegetables) together with cooking processes, sauces, pastry and sensory analysis.

4. 04

   Core 1 – Food Technology and Preservation

   Principles of food processing, packaging and labelling, food additives, food microbiology, hygiene, and methods of food preservation.

5. 05

   Core 2 – Family Resource Management

   Management of family resources including time, energy, money and skills, with household financial management covering budgeting, income, credit, savings and insurance.

6. 06

   Core 2 – Household Technology

   Selection, operation and safe use of household appliances based on motors, heating elements and refrigeration, along with energy efficiency in the home.

7. 07

   Core 2 – Consumer Studies

   Consumer behaviour, retail outlets and psychology, consumer rights and responsibilities, consumer protection legislation and the agencies that support consumers.

8. 08

   Core 3 – The Family in Society

   Study of family structures, functions and historical development, and the role of the family as a unit within wider society.

9. 09

   Core 3 – Marriage and the Family as a Caring Unit

   Marriage, separation, nullity and divorce, family law, the rights of children, and the family's role in caring for its members.

10. 10

    Practical Coursework (Food and Culinary Skills Journal)

    Mandatory two-year practical food and culinary assignments recorded in a coursework journal, submitted to the SEC and worth 20% of the overall marks.

11. 11

    Elective 1 – Home Design and Management

    In-depth study of housing, home design and the planning, organisation and management of the domestic environment as an extension of the core resource-management content.

12. 12

    Elective 2 – Textiles, Fashion and Design

    Study of fibres, fabrics, garment construction and design and fashion principles, including a practical textile/garment project that is inspected and graded.

13. 13

    Elective 3 – Social Studies

    Extended study of social change and the family, education, work and unemployment, childcare, poverty and leisure within contemporary Irish society.

16 · Topics mapped

1. 01

   Strand 1: Scientific Practices

   An overarching strand on how science works, covering hypothesising, experimenting, evaluating evidence, communicating, and working safely, that underpins study across all other strands.

2. 02

   Hypothesising

   Using observations to formulate hypotheses, applying subject knowledge to draw conclusions, compiling and interpreting data from varied sources, and making predictions.

3. 03

   Experimenting

   Designing and conducting practical investigations, controlling variables, handling primary and secondary data, and understanding uncertainty, accuracy and precision.

4. 04

   Evaluating Evidence and Communicating

   Critically examining scientific claims, appreciating the limits and reliability of evidence, evaluating ethical issues, and presenting and debating investigation outcomes.

5. 05

   Strand 2 - Soils: Formation and Classification

   Examining the factors involved in soil formation, the different soil types, groups and profiles in Ireland, and comparing soils by their properties and land-use potential.

6. 06

   Soil Properties: Chemical, Physical and Biological

   Investigating soil chemistry (nutrients, pH, liming, cation exchange, flocculation), physical features (structure, texture, drainage, compaction), and biology (microbiome, earthworms, organic matter, nitrogen and carbon cycles).

7. 07

   Soil Management

   Managing drainage, soil health and fertility, sampling and testing, fertiliser and manure use, carbon sequestration, water and air quality, and associated health and safety practices.

8. 08

   Strand 3 - Crops: Plant Physiology

   Relating plant structures to photosynthesis, respiration, transpiration and nutrient absorption, and exploring principles of genetic improvement, selection and genetic engineering.

9. 09

   Crop Classification and Identification

   Identifying grasses, cultivated crops and weeds by structure and function, distinguishing annual, biennial and perennial lifecycles, and understanding plant breeding and seed variety.

10. 10

    Crop Production: Establishment

    Examining how soil quality, seedbed preparation, seed selection and sowing affect productivity, including germination, certified seed and crop establishment investigations.

11. 11

    Crop Production: Management

    Evaluating crop management practices, conventional versus organic production, nutrient application, crop rotation and disease control, and the ethics and economics of biotechnology and genome editing.

12. 12

    Crop Production: Harvesting

    Examining harvesting techniques and storage methods for grass, food crops and energy or catch crops, factors affecting preservation, and safe handling practices.

13. 13

    Strand 4 - Animals: Animal Physiology

    Comparing ruminant and monogastric digestion, describing mammalian reproduction and fertilisation, and explaining genetics and the principles of genetic improvement and selection in farm animals.

14. 14

    Animal Classification and Identification

    Describing the characteristics of common types, breeds and crosses of cattle, sheep, and one further farm animal from pigs, poultry or horses.

15. 15

    Animal Production

    Studying nutrition and ration formulation, food constituents, production systems, output and produce quality, live-weight gain and feed conversion, sustainability and environmental implications.

16. 16

    Animal Systems, Management, Husbandry and Health

    Covering the scientific management of an animal's lifecycle and enterprise economics, market trends, housing and welfare, manure handling, traceability policy and animal husbandry and health.

15 · Topics mapped

1. 01

   Projection Systems

   Orthographic projection (first and third angle), auxiliary views, sectioning, and pictorial projection through isometric, axonometric and perspective drawing to represent three-dimensional objects in two dimensions.

2. 02

   Plane Geometry

   Construction of plane figures, loci, and circles in contact with points, lines and curves, supported by the underlying theorems and axioms.

3. 03

   Conic Sections

   The ellipse, parabola and hyperbola defined both as plane loci and as true sections of a cone, including tangents, focal points, directrix, eccentricity and the focal-sphere method.

4. 04

   Descriptive Geometry of Lines and Planes

   Spatial relationships, projections and true shapes of inclined and oblique planes, skew lines, dihedral angles and the sectioning of solids by oblique planes.

5. 05

   Intersection and Development of Surfaces

   Finding the intersections of prisms, pyramids, cylinders, cones and spheres and developing or enveloping the surfaces of right and oblique solids and their composites.

6. 06

   Graphics in Design and Communication

   The graphics code in historical context, design strategies, generating and interpreting design briefs, ideas sketching, design problem solving, appraisal and the rudiments of good design.

7. 07

   Communication of Design

   Producing working and assembly drawings to international conventions using symbols, dimensioning, layout, balloon referencing, exploded views and schematic diagrams.

8. 08

   Freehand Drawing

   Using observation and sketching to represent shape, form, texture, colour, light and shade as an immediate tool for explaining ideas and rendering design solutions.

9. 09

   Information and Communication Technologies (CAD and ICT)

   CAD modelling, editing and parametric modelling to generate presentation, working and exploded drawings, plus file management, image processing and ICT-based presentation of design solutions.

10. 10

    Student Assignment

    A practical, theme-based design investigation with concept design or modification in which students observe, model and communicate real artefacts using sketching, rendering and compulsory CAD modelling.

11. 11

    Applied Graphics: Dynamic Mechanisms

    Special curves and loci such as involutes, cycloids, spirals and helices together with cam profiles, displacement diagrams, gear profiles and linkage mechanisms (optional, choose two of five).

12. 12

    Applied Graphics: Structural Forms

    Natural and manufactured structures including arches, domes, vaults, ruled surfaces, the hyperbolic paraboloid, hyperboloid of revolution and geodesic domes (optional, choose two of five).

13. 13

    Applied Graphics: Geologic Geometry

    Graphic analysis of geological features through contours, profiles, gradients, dip, strike and thickness of strata, outcrops, boreholes and cutting and embankment sections (optional, choose two of five).

14. 14

    Applied Graphics: Surface Geometry

    Projection and development of intersecting prismatic, cylindrical and conical ducting and of transition pieces connecting circular and rectilinear cross-sections, plus dihedral angles between surfaces (optional, choose two of five).

15. 15

    Applied Graphics: Assemblies

    Interpreting and producing exploded and assembled multipart drawings using sectioning, hatching, dimensioning, joining methods, surface symbols and 3D CAD assembly modelling (optional, choose two of five).

12 · Topics mapped

1. 01

   Strand 1 — Towards Optimum Performance

   An overarching strand in which learners apply psychological, physiological, biomechanical, sociological and cultural perspectives to understand and improve performance across their chosen physical activities.

2. 02

   Topic 1: Learning and Improving Skill and Technique

   Identifying the key skills and techniques central to successful performance and applying principles of skill acquisition, practice design and feedback to refine them.

3. 03

   Topic 2: Physical and Psychological Demands of Performance

   Examining components of fitness, training principles, recovery, nutrition, hydration, energy systems, the muscular and skeletal systems, and mental-preparedness strategies that underpin performance.

4. 04

   Topic 3: Structures, Strategies, Roles and Conventions

   Analysing the structures, tactics, strategies, roles, rules, rituals and conventions that shape how performers compete and cooperate within different physical activities.

5. 05

   Topic 4: Planning for Optimum Performance

   Integrating learning from the earlier topics to design, implement and evaluate a personalised plan aimed at achieving best possible performance.

6. 06

   Strand 2 — Contemporary Issues in Physical Activity

   An overarching strand exploring how physical activity and sport are organised and experienced in society and the contemporary issues surrounding participation.

7. 07

   Topic 5: Promoting Physical Activity

   Investigating the benefits of physical activity, how it is provided for people at different life stages, and the factors that influence participation in and provision for sport and physical activity.

8. 08

   Topic 6: Ethics and Fair Play

   Considering the ethical dimensions of sport and the responsibilities of participants, officials, coaches and governing bodies in upholding fair play and integrity.

9. 09

   Physical Activity Areas

   The six recognised categories from which learners select activities for study and assessment: Games, Athletics, Artistic and Aesthetic Activities, Adventure Activities, Aquatics, and Personal Exercise and Fitness.

10. 10

    Physical Activity Project (PAP)

    A coursework component, worth 20%, in which learners investigate an aspect of their own performance or a contemporary issue and produce an evidence-based report on one chosen activity.

11. 11

    Performance Assessment

    A digitally captured, common-level component, worth 30%, in which learners demonstrate their best personal performance in a second chosen activity within competitive or conditioned settings.

12. 12

    Written Examination

    A 2.5-hour terminal examination worth 50% (250 marks), set at Higher and Ordinary level, assessing understanding across both strands and the integrated application of theory to performance.

13 · Topics mapped

1. 01

   General Principles

   Historical development of buildings and simple aesthetic principles, the built environment and its planning controls, choosing and purchasing a site, mortgages and insurance. Covers the construction industry's role in the economy, construction drawings and documents, scales and standard symbols, site investigation, conservation orders, site safety and the principal building regulations.

2. 02

   Substructure

   Everything below ground: excavation, removal of vegetable soil, dealing with water in excavations, choice of foundation type (slab, strip, short-bored pile, pad) and subsoil movement. Includes steel reinforcement, concrete materials and production, batching by volume and weight, the water/cement ratio, and site-mixed versus ready-mixed concrete.

3. 03

   Superstructure

   The above-ground load-bearing structure and external envelope: external wall materials, bonding, piers, parapets, damp-proof courses and membranes, lintels and arches. Covers windows (casement details, glazing), doors (types, ironmongery, head, threshold and jamb) and roofs (pitched timber roofs, trussed rafters, coverings, flat roofs, eaves, verges and abutments).

4. 04

   Internal Construction

   The internal fabric and finishes: internal walls, ground floors (solid versus suspended timber), suspended timber upper floors and the trimming of openings, and stairs (rise, going, handrail, headroom). Also stud partitions, internal doors and ironmongery, dry-lining and plasterboard ceilings, plastering, and oil- and water-bound paints.

5. 05

   Services and External Works

   Building services and works around the dwelling: service entry and protection, hot and cold water systems, pipework, cisterns and cylinders, and small-bore heating with heat conservation. Covers rainwater collection, foul and surface-water drainage (single-stack, separate and combined systems, septic tanks), domestic fireplaces and flues, and the domestic electrical installation.

6. 06

   Heat and Thermal Effects in Buildings

   Building science of heat: thermal resistance and conductivity, transmittance (U-values) of composite barriers, thermal properties of materials, thermal bridges and insulating materials. Higher Level adds steady-state heat-loss, running-cost and costs-in-use calculations, solar and total heat gain and psychrometrics, together with thermal comfort, surface condensation and vapour barriers.

7. 07

   Illumination in Buildings

   Building science of light: the nature of light, reflection, refraction and the concept of illumination. Covers the units of illumination, the CIE standard overcast sky, the daylight factor and its components, calculation of average room illumination by the lumen method, glare and the glare index, and the conditions for good illumination.

8. 08

   Sound in Buildings

   Building science of sound and acoustics: the nature and propagation of sound waves, sound power, intensity and pressure, and the ear's response and threshold of audibility. Covers the decibel, the inverse-square law, reverberation time, airborne and impact sound insulation and improving materials, and noise attenuation at source.

9. 09

   Materials and Their Properties

   The study of construction materials threaded through the theory and made explicit in the science and experimental work: soft and hard woods (seasoning, grading) and manufactured boards; glues and adhesives; porous structure (porosity, water absorption, capillarity, efflorescence, sulphate attack); aggregates and concrete; the setting and testing of gypsum, Portland cement and lime; and paint and pigment properties.

10. 10

    Tools and Processes

    Part II practical skills: maintenance, use, mechanical principles, sharpening and safe handling of woodworking tools, together with the joints used in partitions, floors, stairs, roofs, doors, windows and carcase work. Covers the jointing of manufactured boards, principles of joint choice, cutting lists and the setting-out rod, glues, work-holding and jigs.

11. 11

    Practical Examination

    The supervised practical and craftwork bench test, assessing applied woodworking skill as an extension of junior woodwork. Candidates complete a bench-test piece under an external examiner, demonstrating manipulative skill, accuracy, surface preparation and finishing, with drawings to standard convention (150 marks at both levels).

12. 12

    Course Work and Projects

    Part III continuous workshop and laboratory coursework: pupils carry out teacher-supervised experiments and freer projects and submit workshop and laboratory coursework reports. This is the experimental and scientific-investigation portfolio that feeds the design-and-make competence assessed under Part III.

13. 13

    Student Project and Folder

    The major submitted project plus supporting folder, which may be a building detail incorporating at least three craft practices, a building science project, or a written and drawn project on craft or architectural heritage supported by practical work such as a scale model. Assessed on manipulative skill, care of equipment, plan of procedure, experimentation, conclusions and presentation.

16 · Topics mapped

1. 01

   Workshop Processes

   Section I — the practical processes and their related theory: workshop health and safety; benchwork (marking out, measuring and gauging, drilling, fitting and assembly, grinding); heat treatment (annealing, normalising, hardening, tempering, case hardening); plastics processing; fabrication and finishing of metals (sheet metal, beaten metalwork, forgework, gas and arc welding, casting); machining on the centre lathe and milling machine; and making small tools, working mechanisms and a tested working model from drawings.

2. 02

   Health and Safety

   First-aid requirements and personal protection, safeguarding machinery and working areas (moving parts, colour codes, mechanical, electrical and human failures). Covers electrical hazards and protective devices (earthing, single- and three-phase), chemical hazards (poisonous, corrosive, combustible, explosive), fire-protection methods, statutory safety provisions and accident statistics.

3. 03

   Classification and Origin of Metals

   The table of the elements, metals versus non-metals, chemical symbols, the importance of alloys and the physical properties of metals. Covers an outline of mining and the ores from which iron, copper, lead, zinc, aluminium, tin, silver and gold originate, the extraction of metals from ores, and the main methods of ore dressing and process metallurgy.

4. 04

   Structure of Metals

   Microstructure, factors affecting grain size, recrystallisation and macroscopic examination of specimens. Covers solidification, dendritic structure, the structure of ingots and castings, atomic lattices, equilibrium diagrams for simple eutectics and solid solutions, and how metals combine to form alloys.

5. 05

   Iron and Steel

   The important steel-making processes and the production of cast iron, the structure of plain carbon steel and the influence of carbon content, with the relevant equilibrium diagrams. Covers the classification, properties and uses of carbon steels, cast irons and alloy steels.

6. 06

   Non-Ferrous Metals

   The production of copper and aluminium from their ores and the properties and uses of non-ferrous metals and alloys. Covers the classification of brasses, bronzes, gunmetal and bearing metal, together with aluminium- and zinc-based alloys.

7. 07

   Heat Treatment of Metals

   Heat treatment of plain carbon steels using the equilibrium diagram: critical points, structural changes, quenching media and stress relieving. Covers case hardening by pack carburising, plus carburising, nitriding, and flame and induction hardening, with furnace types, temperature measurement, the heat treatment of alloy steels and an outline of age hardening.

8. 08

   Corrosion of Metals

   The mechanism of corrosion, electrolytic action and the factors that influence corrosion. Covers methods of minimising corrosion through protective coatings, design features and environmental control, including anodic and cathodic protection.

9. 09

   Materials Testing

   Strength of materials in tension, compression, shear, bearing, bending and torsion, with stress-strain diagrams, Young's Modulus and proof stress, and determination of component strength. Covers tensile, hardness, impact, ductility and fatigue testing and non-destructive tests, plus an appreciation of creep, conductivity, expansion and specific heat capacity.

10. 10

    Plastics

    Sources, physical structure, manufacture, classification and forms of supply of plastics, and waste disposal. Covers the properties and uses of common thermoplastics and thermosetting plastics, and processing methods such as injection moulding, extrusion, vacuum, blow and compression moulding, calendering and laminating.

11. 11

    Joining of Materials

    The theory of adhesion, classification of adhesives, and the joining of metals and plastics including mechanical fastenings. Covers soldering, brazing and fusion welding (oxyacetylene and electric arc), fluxes and fillers, the transformer principle and electrode classification, plus specialised welding (inert-gas shielded, resistance) and the welding of plastics.

12. 12

    Machining

    The construction, specification and cutting action of the lathe, shaper, milling machine and precision grinders, with work-holding and cutting-tool nomenclature. Covers the mechanics of machining (cutting forces, rake angle, chip formation), machinability, tool life versus cutting speed and cutting fluids, plus taper turning, screw cutting, simple indexing and grinding-wheel structure.

13. 13

    Metrology

    Standards of measurement and grades of accuracy, systems of limits, types of fit, and determination of limits and tolerances, including interchangeability, selective assembly and limit gauges. Covers the measurement of screw threads and the principles of the sine bar, slip gauges, precision balls and rollers, and the specification of surface finish.

14. 14

    Manufacturing Processes

    The principles of manufacture by fabrication, casting, forging, rolling, drawing, extruding, pressing and machining. Covers the properties and common forms of supply of manufacturing products and a general appreciation of the main factors relating to quality control.

15. 15

    Engineering Project

    The design-and-make project responding to a brief released annually by the SEC: candidates produce a working model or artefact and a supporting design folio covering research, design, manufacture, testing and evaluation. A teacher-assessed and SEC-moderated coursework component worth 150 marks.

16. 16

    Practical Examination

    A supervised practical-skills examination held in schools, run as two timed sessions, in which candidates demonstrate workshop and machining skills under examination conditions. Worth 150 marks.

13 · Topics mapped

1. 01

   A Process of Design

   The structured design methodology underpinning the whole subject: interpreting design briefs and themes, developing design specifications, investigating existing solutions, generating and selecting ideas, planning production and presenting work as a portfolio. It is the spine of the design-and-make approach applied across every other area.

2. 02

   Project and Quality Management

   Basic principles of project management such as Gantt charts and critical-path analysis, together with quality-management concepts. Covers product life-cycle considerations, reliability and the relationship between cost and quality.

3. 03

   Materials and Production

   Development of practical manufacturing skills to produce artefacts, including the safe use of hand and power tools. Covers the properties and selection of materials, joining and finishing techniques, and the economical management of resources.

4. 04

   Communications and Graphic Media

   Communicating design ideas through graphic media: projection systems, dimensioned drawings, freehand sketching and three-dimensional representation, modelling and computer graphics. Includes using ICT tools to develop and present design information.

5. 05

   Information and Communications Technology

   Core ICT capability: the components and specification of a computer system, safe system operation and basic ICT skills. Covers common software applications such as word processing, graphics and spreadsheets, and using computers for research and investigation.

6. 06

   Structures and Mechanisms

   Naturally occurring and manufactured structures, forces and their effects, triangulation, stability and centre of gravity. Mechanisms covered include levers, pulleys, gears and cams.

7. 07

   Energy, Electricity and Electronics

   Energy sources and conservation, fundamental electrical concepts and measurement, and components such as switches and sensors. Includes circuit design and construction and the operation of basic logic gates.

8. 08

   Electronics and Control

   Optional area — an in-depth electronics study covering electrical measurement, circuit and component design, power supplies, motors and PCB production. Covers sensor design and logic circuits with inputs, outputs and counting systems.

9. 09

   Applied Control Systems

   Optional area — control and automation: robotic-control principles, servo and stepper motors, analogue-to-digital conversion and programmable devices. Includes pneumatic systems for manufacturing applications.

10. 10

    Information and Communication Technology (Option)

    Optional area, distinct from the core ICT study: computer architecture, data communications, local-area networks, and use of the internet, web and email. Covers multimedia design, image and sound formats and data protection.

11. 11

    Manufacturing Systems

    Optional area — industrial manufacturing systems and strategies, quality-management tools such as control charts, and project management. Covers concurrent engineering, CAD applications and the design of manufacturing systems.

12. 12

    Materials Technology

    Optional area — advanced study of materials: classification, properties and testing and material degradation. Covers joining processes, surface treatments, processing methods, environmental considerations and quality assurance in production.

13. 13

    Design-and-Make Project

    The mandatory student project to a specified thematic brief, integrating the core and chosen options through the design process: analysing and developing the brief, researching and generating solutions, planning materials and processes, and producing an artefact plus an accompanying folder, evaluating the result against the brief.

13 · Topics mapped

1. 01

   Mechanics

   Section I (Physics): linear motion (displacement, velocity, acceleration), Newton's laws, force and momentum, work, energy and power, pressure, gravity and moments. The emphasis is quantitative problem-solving and conservation of momentum, supported by mandatory experiments such as measurement of g and conservation of momentum.

2. 02

   Heat, Temperature and Kinetic Theory

   Section I (Physics): temperature measurement on the Celsius and absolute (Kelvin) scales, the gas laws (Boyle's, Charles's, the ideal-gas relationship) and kinetic theory as an account of the states of matter. Covers heat capacity, latent heat and energy transfer, with specific-heat-capacity and latent-heat experiments.

3. 03

   Light — Optics

   Section I (Physics): the laws of reflection and refraction, Snell's law, total internal reflection, plane and curved mirrors and converging and diverging lenses. Includes image formation, optical instruments and experiments measuring refractive index and focal length.

4. 04

   Light — Wave Theory

   Section I (Physics): light as a wave — wavelength, frequency, amplitude and wave speed, the electromagnetic spectrum, diffraction and the photoelectric effect. Higher Level extends to wave-particle duality and the photon model of light.

5. 05

   Static and Current Electricity

   Section I (Physics): electrostatics (charge, electric fields, capacitance) progressing to current electricity — current, potential difference, resistance, Ohm's law, resistivity and series and parallel circuits. Includes Joule's law, with experiments on Ohm's law, Joule's law and resistivity.

6. 06

   Magnetism and Electromagnetism

   Section I (Physics): permanent magnets and magnetic fields, the force on a current-carrying conductor, electromagnetic induction (Faraday's and Lenz's laws), the transformer, and applications such as the motor and generator.

7. 07

   Atomic Structure and the Periodic Table

   Section II (Chemistry): the development of atomic theory (the Rutherford-Bohr model), electron arrangements and energy levels, isotopes and relative atomic mass, and the modern periodic table with trends in atomic radius, ionisation energy and electronegativity. Covers Mendeleev's work and the basis of periodic law.

8. 08

   Radioactivity

   Section II (Chemistry): the nature of alpha, beta and gamma radiation (ionising ability, penetrating power, absorption), half-life, decay equations, and nuclear fission and fusion. Includes applications in medicine and industry and safety considerations.

9. 09

   Molecular Theory and Chemical Bonding

   Section II (Chemistry): the structure and shape of simple molecules (VSEPR at Higher Level), ionic bonding (lattice energy, properties of ionic compounds), covalent bonding, metallic bonding and the role of electronegativity in bond polarity. Physical properties are related to bond type.

10. 10

    Chemical Reactions and Stoichiometry

    Section II (Chemistry): chemical equations and balancing, relative atomic and molecular masses, the mole concept and mole calculations (including gas volumes at STP), and introductory thermochemistry (enthalpy changes, heats of combustion and formation, Hess's law). Oxidation and reduction are introduced here.

11. 11

    Acid-Base Chemistry and Electrochemistry

    Section II (Chemistry): the Bronsted-Lowry theory, strong versus weak acids, pH and the pH scale, acid-base titrations and buffers (Higher Level). Electrochemistry covers the electrochemical and activity series, electrolysis, Faraday's laws, galvanic cells and corrosion, with volumetric analysis as a mandatory practical.

12. 12

    The Chemistry of Hydrogen, Oxygen and Chlorine

    Section II (Chemistry): the laboratory and industrial preparation, properties and uses of hydrogen, oxygen and water, and chlorine, including reactions with metals and non-metals to form oxides and chlorides, set against the reactivity series. Industrial processes provide applied context.

13. 13

    Introduction to Organic Chemistry

    Section II (Chemistry): the naming, structure and reactions of the main homologous series — alkanes, alkenes, alkynes, alcohols, aldehydes, ketones, carboxylic acids and esters. Includes hydrocarbons from crude oil, isomerism and functional-group reactions, with mandatory organic experiments such as the preparation of ethanol, esters and soap.

14 · Topics mapped

1. 01

   Latin Grammar and Morphology

   Systematic study of Latin forms: the five noun declensions, pronouns, adjective declension and comparison, and the full verb system (indicative, imperative, infinitive, participle, gerundive and subjunctive). Higher Level covers a broader range including deponents, more irregulars and wider subjunctive use; Ordinary Level follows a defined reduced list.

2. 02

   Latin Syntax and Constructions

   How Latin sentences are built: case usage, indirect statement (accusative and infinitive), indirect command and question, purpose, result, temporal, causal, concessive and conditional clauses, the ablative absolute, relative clauses and gerundive constructions. Higher Level requires the full range of subordinate clauses, Ordinary Level a defined subset.

3. 03

   Prescribed Latin Text — Prose

   A prescribed prose author studied in the original Latin, with set translation plus subsidiary comprehension and language questions. Prose authors set across the course include Cicero (speeches and letters), Livy, Caesar and Sallust.

4. 04

   Prescribed Latin Text — Verse

   A prescribed verse author studied in the original Latin, with attention to metre and poetic style. Verse authors set across the course include Virgil (Aeneid), Ovid, Horace and Catullus.

5. 05

   Prescribed Text: Literary, Cultural and Historical Context

   Reading the whole prescribed text in translation and studying its set literary, cultural and historical context — genre features and authorial style, Roman customs and values such as pietas, fides and fama, and the historical background to the text. Context is common to both levels.

6. 06

   Unseen Latin Translation — Prose

   Translation into English of an unprescribed prose passage, testing language competence against the prescribed grammar and syntax. Core at both levels, with Higher Level passages longer and more demanding.

7. 07

   Unseen Latin Translation — Verse

   Translation into English of an unprescribed verse passage drawn from named authors such as Virgil, Ovid, Horace and Catullus, applying knowledge of poetic vocabulary and constructions.

8. 08

   Latin Prose Composition

   Translation of English sentences and passages into Latin, testing active command of grammar and syntax. The most challenging element of the language paper, requiring accurate handling of forms, agreement and word order.

9. 09

   Unseen Latin Comprehension

   Comprehension questions in English on an unseen Latin prose passage, testing the ability to understand Latin in context as an alternative to active composition.

10. 10

    Latin Verse Scansion

    Metrical analysis of Latin verse, principally the dactylic hexameter of Virgil and Ovid — identifying long and short syllables, feet, elision and the caesura. Assessed at Higher Level.

11. 11

    Roman History

    Roman political and military history of the Republic and Empire: the Punic Wars, the Late Republic (the Gracchi, Marius, Sulla and Caesar), the Augustan Principate and the Julio-Claudian emperors.

12. 12

    Roman Art and Architecture

    Roman visual culture: architecture (the Colosseum, the Pantheon, basilicas, aqueducts and triumphal arches), sculpture (portrait busts, relief and Trajan's Column), painting and mosaics, and the use of art as Augustan visual propaganda.

13. 13

    Latin Literary History and Criticism

    The lives, works, genres and literary significance of major Latin authors of the Late Republic (Cicero, Caesar, Catullus, Lucretius) and the Augustan Age (Virgil, Horace, Ovid, Livy), assessing each author's literary importance and influence rather than biography alone.

14. 14

    Research Study

    An independent, externally marked study on a significant but manageable aspect of the Latin language or a short text, carried out within an annual thematic brief issued by the SEC, with language-based analysis at its centre.

10 · Topics mapped

1. 01

   The Odyssey of Homer

   Strand 1 (The World of Heroes): Homer's Odyssey studied in translation — Odysseus's journey home after the Trojan War, the concept of the epic hero, hospitality (xenia), divine intervention, the portrayal of women, and the underworld journey of Book 11. Higher Level considers whether the poem can be read as an anti-war text.

2. 02

   Virgil's Aeneid

   Strand 1 (The World of Heroes): Virgil's Aeneid (with emphasis on Books 1-6) in translation — the voyage and destiny of Aeneas, the founding myth of Rome, pietas and Roman values, the tragedy of Dido, and the underworld of Book 6. Higher Level critically examines the poem as Augustan propaganda.

3. 03

   Greek Tragedy

   Strand 2 (Drama and Spectacle): a prescribed Greek tragedy studied in its theatrical and civic context — the conventions of Greek drama (chorus, masks, the Theatre of Dionysus), the role of drama in Athenian democracy, and the play's themes and characters. The set play rotates by examination year.

4. 04

   Roman Spectacle

   Strand 2 (Drama and Spectacle): the Colosseum and the Circus Maximus as centres of Roman public life — gladiatorial games and chariot racing, the architecture and capacity of both venues, and what mass spectacle reveals about Roman imperial identity and power.

5. 05

   Alexander the Great

   Strand 3 (Power and Identity): the reign of Alexander (336-323 BC) through ancient sources — Arrian's Anabasis and Plutarch's Life of Alexander. Students assess source bias, the construction of Alexander's identity through propaganda, his treatment of enemies, and his empire-building.

6. 06

   Julius Caesar

   Strand 3 (Power and Identity): the career of Julius Caesar through Caesar's own Gallic Wars (selected passages) and Plutarch's Life of Caesar. Students analyse Caesar's self-presentation, the reliability of a participant's account and the nature of Roman imperialism.

7. 07

   Gods and Myths

   Strand 4 (Gods and Humans): the major gods of Greece and Rome — their personalities, attributes and representation in art and literature — and key myths. Students learn to identify the Olympians by their attributes and stories.

8. 08

   Worship and Temples

   Strand 4 (Gods and Humans): Greek and Roman religious practice — ritual, sacrifice and worship — and a close study of temple architecture such as the Parthenon. Examines how sacred space and ritual expressed the relationship between gods and humans.

9. 09

   Funerary Practices

   Strand 4 (Gods and Humans): Greek and Roman funerary customs — the laying-out (prosthesis), the funeral procession, and cremation versus burial — and what these reveal about beliefs in the afterlife, connecting material and ritual practice to ideas about death.

10. 10

    Living Well: Socrates and the Philosophers

    Strand 4 (Gods and Humans): philosophical perspectives on how to live and how to face death, through Plato's Crito (Socrates on justice, law and death) and selected odes of Horace (Epicurean and Stoic attitudes to mortality and pleasure).

14 · Topics mapped

1. 01

   Oral Communication

   Spoken proficiency assessed through a general conversation with the examiner, a prepared picture sequence and a role-play. Marked on vocabulary range, grammatical accuracy, fluency and pronunciation, and conducted by a visiting SEC examiner.

2. 02

   Listening Comprehension (Aural)

   An externally administered listening examination on authentic spoken Italian — dialogues, monologues, interviews and news-style items. Answers are mainly in English at Ordinary Level, with some required in Italian at Higher Level.

3. 03

   Reading Comprehension

   Comprehension of written Italian: an unseen journalistic passage with questions answered mostly in Italian, plus a literary-comprehension element at Higher Level. Ordinary Level uses lighter, more straightforward contemporary prose.

4. 04

   Written Production

   Written expression in Italian: a short opinion piece linked to the reading passage and extended composition tasks such as guided narrative, formal and informal letters or an open essay. Higher Level demands greater length, range and accuracy; Ordinary Level focuses on guided compositions.

5. 05

   Meeting People and Social Interaction

   The communicative functions of greeting, introducing oneself, exchanging personal details, maintaining social relations, expressing feelings and attitudes, and managing conversational conventions — the entry-point theme of the shared modern-language syllabus.

6. 06

   Daily Life and Family

   Personal and domestic life in Italy and the wider Italian-speaking world: family, home and neighbourhood, food and meals, shopping for goods and services, daily routines and health. A recurring oral and reading-comprehension theme.

7. 07

   Education and School Life

   How young people are educated in Ireland and Italy: the school systems, subjects and timetables, study habits, relationships with teachers and peers, and future academic plans.

8. 08

   Leisure, Sport and Entertainment

   How people spend their free time — sport, music, cinema, theatre, television and social media — with reference to leisure habits in Italy. A regular focus of the oral examination.

9. 09

   Travel, Tourism and Transport

   Planning and discussing travel, coping with transport, holidays in Italy and abroad, and tourist experiences. Italy as a tourist destination is a key theme of the compositions and the oral.

10. 10

    The World of Work

    Employment, careers and working life in Italy, job-seeking, and economic issues including unemployment and equality in the workplace. Higher Level compositions extend to application and formal professional letters.

11. 11

    Social and Contemporary Issues

    Wider social themes from the shared syllabus: the generation gap, changing family and relationships, immigration and minorities, gender and racial equality, health and lifestyle, youth culture and the media. These appear in chosen journalistic passages and compositions.

12. 12

    The Environment

    Environmental concerns — pollution, climate, ecology and sustainability — understood locally and globally, including the European and global dimension, as encountered in reading passages and written tasks.

13. 13

    Language Awareness and Grammar

    Understanding how meaning is organised in Italian: grammar and syntax, word-formation, vocabulary-building strategies, the use of dictionaries and references, and reflection on one's own language learning. Grammatical accuracy is assessed across all four skills.

14. 14

    Cultural and Literary Awareness

    Contemporary Italian society and culture through media and everyday-life comparisons between Ireland and Italy, and transcultural issues. At Higher Level this extends to the study of prescribed literary texts, with analysis of theme and style in Italian.

7 · Topics mapped

1. 01

   Oral: general conversation

   Sustained personal and discursive conversation in Japanese, including the published 2026 set topics and wider themes.

2. 02

   Oral: prepared material

   The language-specific prepared task: a language portfolio, topic card, picture sequence or project, according to the exact SEC route.

3. 03

   Listening comprehension

   Understanding authentic spoken Japanese and responding to gist, detail and inference questions.

4. 04

   Reading comprehension

   Understanding written Japanese across the text types and cultural contexts specified for the qualification.

5. 05

   Written production

   Producing accurate, purposeful Japanese for personal, discursive and functional tasks.

6. 06

   Language portfolio and cultural awareness

   Developing evidence-based knowledge of communities associated with Japanese through texts, culture and contemporary life.

7. 07

   Grammar, vocabulary and register

   Controlling the grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation and register needed for accurate communication in Japanese.

7 · Topics mapped

1. 01

   Oral: general conversation

   Sustained personal and discursive conversation in Russian, including the published 2026 set topics and wider themes.

2. 02

   Oral: prepared material

   The language-specific prepared task: a language portfolio, topic card, picture sequence or project, according to the exact SEC route.

3. 03

   Listening comprehension

   Understanding authentic spoken Russian and responding to gist, detail and inference questions.

4. 04

   Reading comprehension

   Understanding written Russian across the text types and cultural contexts specified for the qualification.

5. 05

   Written production

   Producing accurate, purposeful Russian for personal, discursive and functional tasks.

6. 06

   Language portfolio and cultural awareness

   Developing evidence-based knowledge of communities associated with Russian through texts, culture and contemporary life.

7. 07

   Grammar, vocabulary and register

   Controlling the grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation and register needed for accurate communication in Russian.

7 · Topics mapped

1. 01

   Oral: general conversation

   Sustained personal and discursive conversation in Mandarin Chinese, including the published 2026 set topics and wider themes.

2. 02

   Oral: prepared material

   The language-specific prepared task: a language portfolio, topic card, picture sequence or project, according to the exact SEC route.

3. 03

   Listening comprehension

   Understanding authentic spoken Mandarin Chinese and responding to gist, detail and inference questions.

4. 04

   Reading comprehension

   Understanding written Mandarin Chinese across the text types and cultural contexts specified for the qualification.

5. 05

   Written production

   Producing accurate, purposeful Mandarin Chinese for personal, discursive and functional tasks.

6. 06

   Language portfolio and cultural awareness

   Developing evidence-based knowledge of communities associated with Mandarin Chinese through texts, culture and contemporary life.

7. 07

   Grammar, vocabulary and register

   Controlling the grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation and register needed for accurate communication in Mandarin Chinese.

7 · Topics mapped

1. 01

   Oral: general conversation

   Sustained personal and discursive conversation in Polish, including the published 2026 set topics and wider themes.

2. 02

   Oral: prepared material

   The language-specific prepared task: a language portfolio, topic card, picture sequence or project, according to the exact SEC route.

3. 03

   Listening comprehension

   Understanding authentic spoken Polish and responding to gist, detail and inference questions.

4. 04

   Reading comprehension

   Understanding written Polish across the text types and cultural contexts specified for the qualification.

5. 05

   Written production

   Producing accurate, purposeful Polish for personal, discursive and functional tasks.

6. 06

   Language portfolio and cultural awareness

   Developing evidence-based knowledge of communities associated with Polish through texts, culture and contemporary life.

7. 07

   Grammar, vocabulary and register

   Controlling the grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation and register needed for accurate communication in Polish.

7 · Topics mapped

1. 01

   Oral: general conversation

   Sustained personal and discursive conversation in Lithuanian, including the published 2026 set topics and wider themes.

2. 02

   Oral: prepared material

   The language-specific prepared task: a language portfolio, topic card, picture sequence or project, according to the exact SEC route.

3. 03

   Listening comprehension

   Understanding authentic spoken Lithuanian and responding to gist, detail and inference questions.

4. 04

   Reading comprehension

   Understanding written Lithuanian across the text types and cultural contexts specified for the qualification.

5. 05

   Written production

   Producing accurate, purposeful Lithuanian for personal, discursive and functional tasks.

6. 06

   Language portfolio and cultural awareness

   Developing evidence-based knowledge of communities associated with Lithuanian through texts, culture and contemporary life.

7. 07

   Grammar, vocabulary and register

   Controlling the grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation and register needed for accurate communication in Lithuanian.

7 · Topics mapped

1. 01

   Oral: general conversation

   Sustained personal and discursive conversation in Portuguese, including the published 2026 set topics and wider themes.

2. 02

   Oral: prepared material

   The language-specific prepared task: a language portfolio, topic card, picture sequence or project, according to the exact SEC route.

3. 03

   Listening comprehension

   Understanding authentic spoken Portuguese and responding to gist, detail and inference questions.

4. 04

   Reading comprehension

   Understanding written Portuguese across the text types and cultural contexts specified for the qualification.

5. 05

   Written production

   Producing accurate, purposeful Portuguese for personal, discursive and functional tasks.

6. 06

   Language portfolio and cultural awareness

   Developing evidence-based knowledge of communities associated with Portuguese through texts, culture and contemporary life.

7. 07

   Grammar, vocabulary and register

   Controlling the grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation and register needed for accurate communication in Portuguese.