Junior Cycle

Junior Cycle

Junior Cycle

Junior Cycle students at Terence MacSwiney take the Junior Certificate examination at the end of 3rd Year. The school offers a range of subjects to choose from and students can sample subjects in 1st Year to see what they like and where their talents lie.

We currently offer English, Irish, Mathematics, Geography, Home Economics, Material Technology (Wood), Metalwork, Music, Art,Craft and Design, Science, Business Studies, French, Information Technology, Technical Graphics, Civil,Social and Political Education (CSPE), Social, Personal and Health Education (SPHE),Religion.

The new Framework for Junior Cycle (2015) gives schools greater flexibility to design programmes that are suited to the needs of their junior cycle students and to the particular context of the school.

Each school’s programme:

  • will be guided by the twenty-four statements of learning, eight principles and eight key skills that are at the core of the new Junior Cycle
  • will encompass learning in subjects or a combination of subjects and short courses
  • will include an area of learning entitled Wellbeing
  • will provide a range of other learning experiences
  • may include priority learning units (PLUs) that will help to provide a junior cycle programme that is appropriate to the needs of particular students with significant special educational needs.

Schools will have the flexibility and discretion to decide what combination of subjects, short courses or other learning experiences will be provided in their three-year junior cycle programme.

(Framework for Junior Cycle, Department of Education and Skills 2015)