Since its inception Scoil Mhuire has earned and maintained its record for academic excellence.
The school aims to help all pupils achieve their fullest potential in academic and extra-curricular fields at each stage of their development. In our teaching we aim to help, stimulate, and challenge each student, and this aim is supported by careful monitoring and regular reporting.
A dedicated and accomplished teaching staff, together with an optimum learning environment, ensures that our pupils consistently set the standard in their chosen discipline.
The curriculum provided is balanced, broad and diverse.
A high priority is placed on communication with parents. There is a parent-teacher meeting for every year group each year.
The Junior Certificate and Leaving Certificate curricula of the Irish Department of Education and Skills are followed. All students sit the Junior Certificate at the end of 3rd Year. Transition Year is compulsory in 4th Year. All students sit the Leaving Certificate at the end of 6th Year.
Scoil Mhuire is widely acknowledged as one of the key feeder schools to national universities. Our examination results are excellent across a wide ability range. The overwhelming majority of our students go on to study at university.
Junior Cycle
What is the Junior Cycle?
Students in 1st to 3rd Year follow the national Junior Cycle curriculum which offers a broad range of subjects, as well as encouraging key skills in communications, wellbeing, creativity, literacy, and more. Students complete classroom-based assessments during 2nd and 3rd year. They will sit State Junior Cycle Exams at the end of 3rd year. Together, CBA descriptors, Junior Cert grades and student personal statements will form a Junior Cycle Profile of Achievement Certificate.
What is a Classroom Based Assessment (CBA)?
As part of the reformed Junior Cycle program, students are required to do Classroom Based Assessments in 2nd Year and 3rd Year of their Junior Cycle within the national school timetable (the deadlines for which are published yearly by the NCCA). Classroom Based Assessments take place (as the name suggests) in the classroom under the supervision of the subject teacher and promote a positive and collaborative learning environment for students while also informing them about their learning progress in each of their subjects.
What are statements of Other Areas of Learning (OAL) and Other Areas of Wellbeing (OAWB)?
OAL stands for ‘Other Areas of Learning’ and OAWB stand for ‘Other Areas of Well-Being’. Together they record students’ non-academic achievements within the school community during their first three years in secondary school. These will be published on the students’ Junior Cycle Profile of Achievement (JCPA) along with their State examination grades and CBA descriptors.
Junior Cycle Subjects
Junior students must study 9 subjects and two short courses for Junior Certificate.
The Study of a Modern Foreign Language is compulsory in Scoil Mhuire.
These subjects comprise:
Irish
English
Mathematics
History
Geography
Science
Business
A choice of either French or German or Italian
A choice of Music or Art or Home Economics
Non Examinable Well Being Subjects which all students must study include:
CSPE (Short Course)
Digital Literacy
SPHE (Short Course)
Religion
PE (Short Course)
Senior Cycle
The Leaving Certificate is a familiar, high trusted & high stakes examination in Ireland. Since 2017 the DE (Department of Education) conducted a broad consultation process with a view to redevelop the Leaving Certificate Programme which is regarded generally as a demanding and stressful examination for students.
As a consequence of the consultation process the Leaving Cert Redevelopment Programme was launched by the Minister for Education in March 2024.
It is a student centred, skills development programme building on the principles of the Junior Cycle.
It also builds on Transition Year (TY) foundations which will be an integral part of the Leaving Certificate Programme. Transition Year will, therefore, be more accountable & will have Taster Programmes. In this regard, a Transition Year Statement is to developed which requires each school to review their TY Programme for implementation in September 2025.
This TY Review is currently underway in Scoil Mhuire Cork and will be presented to current Third Year parents in Term Three 2025.
The Chief Inspector of the DE says that the Redeveloped Leaving Certificate will give:
- Opportunities for improvement.
- Promotion of student agency and voice.
- It is within a Culture of Formative Assessment.
There will be “Additional Assessment Components”. (AAC’s).
- These are project based.
- They will have oversight by Subject Teacher and signed off by Principal.
- They will be awarded between 40% or 50% of the Leaving Certificate mark in a subject.
- They will be set & marked by SEC.
- They will be added to the marks attained in the written Leaving Certificate Examination in June each year.
The concepts underpinning these AAC’s are:
- Students learn through and Learn by doing.
- They focus on process not product.
- They are aligned to learning outcomes.
The implementation process of the Redeveloped Leaving Certificate Programme will be phased in over 5 Tranches in a timeframe of 5 years, scheduled to begin in September 2025.
In Scoil Mhuire Cork the 5 Tranches are as follows:
2025 – Tranche 1 – Biology/ Chemistry/ Physics/ Business/ Climate Action & Sustainable Development/ Drama, Film & Theatre Studies.
2026 – Tranche 2 – Accounting/English/Geography.
2027 – Tranche 3 – History/ Home Economics/ mathematics/ Music.
2028 – Tranche 4 – Art/ Economics/ French/ Gaeilge/ German/ Italian.
2029 Tranche 5 – Applied Mathematics.
Training Provision and Support
Throughout the entire phased implementation process staff training and support will be provided by OIDE as follows:
- Whole staff days focusing on Senior Cycle redevelopment
- 4 years of provision of support for each subject area. (Full Day events/ Collaborative events/ Webinars & Workshops.
On completion the aim is to have a robust, fit for purpose, student centred, skills based Leaving Certificate Programme which meets the needs of a modern progressive society and values agreed core educational and ethical principles.
Senior Cycle Subjects
Students must continue their study of
English
Irish*
Maths
Their Modern Foreign Language from Junior Cycle **
Option Subjects Include:
History
Geography
Biology
Chemistry
Physics
Business
Accounting
Economics
Social and Scientific
Music
Art
*Irish:
*Please see our Irish Exemptions Policy under Policies
**Modern Foreign Languages:
- In exceptional circumstances, where a persistent Special Education Need is identified despite intervention and differentiation, consideration will be given to allowing the student to withdraw from the study of a Modern Foreign Language.
- NUI exemptions from the study of a modern foreign language cannot be considered or accepted by Scoil Mhuire.
- NUI exemptions are private arrangements between the parent and the NUI and are not accommodated by Scoil Mhuire.
As students approach Senior cycle, it is critical that the choices are available to them that will allow progression along their chosen path.
Fourth Year Options 2024/2025
Core Subjects: English (4) Irish (4) Maths (4) Language (4) Religion (2)
Subject Option Blocks:
| Block 1: | Block 2: | Block 3: |
| Business
Chemistry Economics Geography |
Accounting
Biology Business Music |
Art
Biology History Home Economics (Social & Scientific) Physics |
Fifth Year Options 2024/2025
Core Subjects: Irish, English, Maths, Religion, RSE/PE/Dance
Languages: French/German/Italian/French
| Block 1: | Block 2: | Block 3: |
| Chemistry
Geography Biology Home Economics Business |
Accounting
Geography History Geography Economics Physics Biology |
Art
Music Business Biology
|
Sixth Year Options 2024/2025
Core Subjects: Irish, English, Maths, Religion, RSE/PE/Dance
Languages: French/German/Italian/French
| Block 1: | Block 2: | Block 3: |
| History
Physics Business Biology Home Economics
|
Biology
Music Art Geography
|
Economics
Business Chemistry Accounting
|
Subject Profiles
Subjects from which students may select, with an overview from subject teachers as to what their subject entails:
French
JUNIOR CYCLE French is one of the three modern languages taught for Junior Cycle. Pupils are given the opportunity to sample each of the languages
Science
SCIENCE SUBJECT PROFILE At Scoil Mhuire, the study of science enables students to build on their learning in primary school and to further develop
English
English has long held a place of special importance and regard in Scoil Mhuire, integral to the vision and essence envisaged by Miss Cahill and
German
Scoil Mhuire has a long tradition of teaching German as a Modern Foreign Language . The Senior Cycle and M.F.L programmes at Junior Cycle level embrace every
Italian
Italian has been part of the curriculum of S.M.C. since its foundation in 1951 and together with German and French, is one of three MFLs
Business
This subject deals with the practicalities of how businesses operate along with how the various stakeholders involved interact with each other. Leaving Certificate business creates
Accounting
Accounting is the art of preparing financial and management information, for an array of different organisations, ranging from Sole Traders, Farms, Clubs, Non-Profits, to PLC’s
History
History is the study of change over time. It covers all aspects of human society -political, social, economic, cultural, religious, and military developments. TOPICS COVERED:
Geography
“Geography is the subject which holds the key to our future”. ~Michael Palin Geography combines the study of physical and human worlds and provides a
Music
“Where words fail, music speaks” ~Hans Christian Anderson Music, from earliest times, has been an important expression of human creativity. Today it is a valued
Home Economics Social & Scientific
When we hear the term, ‘Home Economics’ most of us think about cooking and food. However, Home Economics is about much more than food. Home
Gaeilge
“Labhair í agus mairfidh sí” An aidhm atá againn mar mhúinteoirí Gaeilge ná an Ghaeilge, go háirthe an Ghaeilge labhartha agus an cultúr a
Economics
Economics is the study of the processes and decisions that influence the production and consumption of goods and services by individuals, firms, governments and other
French
JUNIOR CYCLE French is one of the three modern languages taught for Junior Cycle. Pupils are given the opportunity to sample each of the languages
Science
SCIENCE SUBJECT PROFILE At Scoil Mhuire, the study of science enables students to build on their learning in primary school and to further develop
English
English has long held a place of special importance and regard in Scoil Mhuire, integral to the vision and essence envisaged by Miss Cahill and
German
Scoil Mhuire has a long tradition of teaching German as a Modern Foreign Language . The Senior Cycle and M.F.L programmes at Junior Cycle level embrace every
Italian
Italian has been part of the curriculum of S.M.C. since its foundation in 1951 and together with German and French, is one of three MFLs
Business
This subject deals with the practicalities of how businesses operate along with how the various stakeholders involved interact with each other. Leaving Certificate business creates
Accounting
Accounting is the art of preparing financial and management information, for an array of different organisations, ranging from Sole Traders, Farms, Clubs, Non-Profits, to PLC’s
History
History is the study of change over time. It covers all aspects of human society -political, social, economic, cultural, religious, and military developments. TOPICS COVERED:
Geography
“Geography is the subject which holds the key to our future”. ~Michael Palin Geography combines the study of physical and human worlds and provides a
Music
“Where words fail, music speaks” ~Hans Christian Anderson Music, from earliest times, has been an important expression of human creativity. Today it is a valued
Home Economics Social & Scientific
When we hear the term, ‘Home Economics’ most of us think about cooking and food. However, Home Economics is about much more than food. Home
Gaeilge
“Labhair í agus mairfidh sí” An aidhm atá againn mar mhúinteoirí Gaeilge ná an Ghaeilge, go háirthe an Ghaeilge labhartha agus an cultúr a
Economics
Economics is the study of the processes and decisions that influence the production and consumption of goods and services by individuals, firms, governments and other
Additional info
Business http://scoilmhuirecork.ie/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Business-Accounting-and-Economics.pptx
German
Biology http://scoilmhuirecork.ie/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Leaving-Certificate-Biology.pdf
History http://scoilmhuirecork.ie/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/History-–-Leaving-Certificate-and-Beyond.pptx
Geography http://scoilmhuirecork.ie/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Geog-Subject-Template.pdf
Accounting http://scoilmhuirecork.ie/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Business-Accounting-and-Economics.pptx
Economics http://scoilmhuirecork.ie/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Business-Accounting-and-Economics.pptx
French
Social & Scientific https://scoilmhuirecork.ie/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Introduction-to-LC-Home-Economics.pptx
Physics http://scoilmhuirecork.ie/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/PHYSICS.pdf
Art http://scoilmhuirecork.ie/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Leaving-Certificate-Art-Scoil-Mhuire.pdf
Italian
Chemistry http://scoilmhuirecork.ie/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Subject-Description-Chemistry-1.pdf
Music http://scoilmhuirecork.ie/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/LEAVING-CERT-MUSIC-SMC.pdf