Final outing for Leaving Cert in current form

Secondary school students have shared words of encouragement to students in Cork as the Leaving Cert gets underway for the last time in their current format.

In a message to students beginning their exams yesterday (Wednesday), Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland (ASTI) President Padraig Curley urged students to aim for a balanced routine in the days and weeks ahead.

He said: “For those of you sitting the Leaving Cert, you have the experience of sitting the Junior Cert State exams under your belt.

“All of you – Leaving and Junior Cert student - are on the home stretch and your teachers are very proud of you.

“Your job now is to look after yourself. A balanced routine with plenty of rest, some exercise, meeting with friends, and time to organise yourself ahead of each exam will serve you well,” said Mr Curley.

Exam changes

The 2027 Leaving Cert exams will look very different to this year’s exams, with a number of significant changes coming into play.

For students who started fifth year in 2025-2026, some Senior Cycle subjects are changing to include continuous assessment as part of the final Leaving Certificate examination. These assessments are called Additional Assessment Components (AACs) and they can be worth at least 40% of the available marks in a subject.

These won’t take the form of a written exam, and will instead involve completing things like research projects, experiments, or practical investigations. From 2027, AACs and coursework will be eligible for ‘bonus marks, meaning a student can get additional marks for answering in Irish.

Subjects with updated curriculums for fifth years starting in 2025-2026 are biology, physics, chemistry, business, Arabic, Ancient Greek, and Latin.

A small selection of schools introduced two new subjects for fifth years this year: Drama, Film and Theatre Studies, and Climate Action and Sustainable Development, both of which will be included in the 2027 Leaving Cert exams.

It is widely expected that more revised subjects will be introduced for 2026-2027. No major changes have been made to the Junior Cycle which went through a number of changes last year.