Students across Ireland will be preparing for their Leaving Certificate (Leaving Cert) agricultural science exam which takes place on Monday, June 20.
According to the State Examinations Commission (SEC) a total of 7,724 students are expected to sit the exam.
For those sitting both the higher and the ordinary paper, they will have from 2:00p.m-4:30p.m to complete the exam.
Agricultural science
Of the 7,724 students taking the ag science exam, 3,178 of these students are female, with 4,546 of those due to sit the exam being male.
A predicted 6,915 students will take the higher level paper, with the remaining 809 opting for the ordinary level paper, meaning 89.5% will opt for the higher level exam.
A candidate who answers in Irish for the agricultural science exam may be given bonus marks in addition to the marks gained in the subject.
They will receive bonus marks at the rate of 10% of the marks they obtained if they have obtained less than 75% of the total marks.
For those who answer partly in Irish and partly in English, they will receive no bonus marks.
Ag science students will be reassured that they have already completed their individual investigative study which is worth 25% of their overall grade which had the theme of ‘Exploring nutrition and nutrients – the importance to Irish agriculture of their effective use and management’.
LCA
The Leaving Certificate Applied (LCA) agriculture/horticulture exam took place last Wednesday, June 14.
The exam was worth 240 marks altogether, and beforehand, the SEC predicted 522 students to take the exam.
Of the 522 students taking the agriculture/horticulture exam, 178 were female and 344 were male.
Some of the questions on the paper included:
- What organism is present in the roots of clover plants?;
- Name one additive that can be added to silage;
- Explain the term ‘colostrum’;
- What is scarification?;
- Name one farming practice that can only be completed at certain times of the year;
- Name the agency which supports and provides advice to organic farmers.
Leaving Cert 2023
The agricultural science higher and ordinary written and coursework material will be marked online.
The agricultural science exam scripts will be scanned on return from the examination centres and will become an electronic script.
The scanned images of the examination scripts will then be marked by examiners online using software specially designed for this purpose.
The move to mark exams online will result in the minimising of material being lost, allowing the online viewing of the scripts for students, and will enhance quality assurance through improved monitoring and management of examiners’ work.
Exam results for the 2023 Leaving Certificate and LCA examinations are expected to be given to candidates at 10:00a.m on Friday, August 25, a full week earlier than the 2022 results date.