Your education questions answered Education CorrespondentKathryn Holmquist

What is the Leaving Cert Applied, and who should do it?

The Leaving Cert Applied is a two-year programme, ideal for students whose intelligence tends to be practical, rather than academic. Its aim is to prepare students for the world of work. This does not mean that the student is never going to return to school after the LCA. The current emphasis on life-long learning means that an LCA student may very well decided at a later time to pursue other kinds of education and career development.

One advantage of the LCA is that it recognises many different forms of achievement. The two-year programme is broken down into three areas: vocational preparation, which includes work experience and communication skills; general education, which includes life-skills such as languages, leisure, arts and social education; and vocational education, which is directed at the skills required for specific careers.

The assessment of LCA students is well-suited to those who tend not to do well in exams, but are intelligent nonetheless. There are elements of continuous assessment, as well as written and oral exams at the end of the course.

My child, who is in first year in secondary school, cannot get his head around science. He really doesn't want to do it or see the purpose of it.

Science can be difficult for first years, because the type of information and study may be different from what they are used to. Science is an important subject to keep on top of and all students should continue it through the Junior Cert if at all possible.

Not doing science greatly limits further opportunities in courses and careers. It could be that at the end of the day, your child chooses a course of study that does not require science, but it would be a shame for him to limit his sphere so early in life.

The first thing you need to do is find out if your child is having a comprehension problem. You need to talk to your child's science teacher or year head about this. The guidance counsellor may also be able to help. Your child's study skills need to be developed anyway, and science may be a good focus for this. An older brother or sister may also be able to help. When a student takes a dislike to a subject, the solution often involves boosting the young person's confidence.