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Leaving Certificate Construction Studies (NCCA specification), Higher and Ordinary Level, with the SEC examination.
Overview
Leaving Certificate Construction Studies (NCCA specification), Higher and Ordinary Level, with the SEC examination.
Complete topic map
Every topic recorded for this subject in the curriculum is reproduced below in its full hierarchy. The descriptions reflect the mapped scope without implying additional exam rules.
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.
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.
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).
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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).
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.
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.
Where this subject applies
These pathways and regions are explicitly connected to the subject in the curriculum.
Higher Level
Higher Level — the more demanding level, with broader and deeper content and the H1–H8 grade scale.
Ordinary Level
Ordinary Level — the foundational level covering the core of the syllabus, graded O1–O8.
Official sources
The public sources below are referenced directly by this subject or by one of its topics.
This editorial selection points to the relevant official bodies. Always confirm current requirements, dates and exceptional arrangements with your school and the responsible authority.
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Public references
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