Agricultural Science

Topics From:

• Scientific Method (Strand 1), Soil Formation and Classification (Strand 2)
• Soil Management (Strand 2)
• Physical Properties of Soil (Strand 2) and Animal Pysiology (Strand 4)
• Dairy Production (Strand 4)
• Grassland (Strand 3)

Applied Maths

This course focuses on the Mechanics section of the Applied Maths course, covering the following topics:

• Linear Motion
• Connected Particles
• Circular Motion
• Collisions
• Projectiles

These classes will be exam-focused, presenting specific strategies that can be applied to most or all exam questions on each topic. Therefore, students can enter their Applied Maths exam not only with a keen eye for noticing the underlying structure of typical exam questions but also with a clear plan on how to solve them. Notes will contain not only theory and general advice but also fully worked examples illustrating recommended approaches to problems.

Art History

Topic 1: Europe and the Wider World

Day 1

• Introduction (outline of course, question format including visual language and marking scheme)
• Realism, Impressionism and Pos-Impressionism (c.1850-1900s)
• The Impact of innovation and invention: Monet and Degas

Day 2

• The representation of class and gender: Millet, Manet, Morisot
• The impact of changes in society: Renoir

Topic 2: Ireland and it’s place in the Wider World

Day 3

• Pre-Christian Ireland: Neolithic Passage Mounds – the influence of spiritual beliefs on built structures
• The Bronze Age and the Iron Age: the development of metalwork

Topic 3: Today’s World

Day 4

• Analysing an artowork
• Public Art
• Art as Social Commentary or Commentator

Day 5

• Exam questions, illustrating answers, using visually descriptive vocabulary

Biology

Section A

This exam-focused, intensive course will cover topics from each of the following sections:

• Cell Structure
• Biomolecules
• Enzymes
• Cell Division
• Transpor across membranes
• Respiration
• Transfer molecules
• Micro Organisms
• Immunity

All notes will make reference to ‘investigating in science’ and will incorporate the unifying strands of health, technology and sustainability as per new Biology specifications.

Notes will be provided on all topics listed under the course description. During live classes, learning outcomes from each topic will be covered.

Section B

This exam-focused, intensive revision course will cover topics from each of the following sections:

• Circulatory System
• Breathing System
• Plant Structure and Transport
• Ecology
• Digestive System
• Photosynthesis
• Transfer Molecules
• Viruses and Classifications

Business

This instensive, exam-focused revision course will focus on topics from the following sections:

Section A

• Key Stakeholders
• Regulations and Governance
• National Policy
• Enterprise
• Idea Generation
• Business Planning

Section B

• Leading and Managing Organisational Culture
• Human Capital Managment
• Reasons for Planning
• Making an informed decision as a consumer
• Making informed financial decisions

Chemistry

Section A

• Stoiciometry (concentrations of solutions, limiting reactants)
• Volumetric Analysis (Acids/Bases, procedures and calculations)
• Gas Laws – ideal gas equation calculations

Section B

• Atomic Theory – development of the model of the atom, electronic figurations of atoms and simple ions
• Atomic Theory – electronegativity, intra and inter molecular bonding
• Organic Chemistry – allotropes of carbon, hydrocarbons, nomenclature, structural isomers, stereoisomers

Classical Studies

Topics from:

• Medea essay writing
• The Colosseum and a day at the games
• The Circus Maximus and a day at the races
• Greek temples and festivals
• The Poetry of Horace

Economics

Section A – Micro Economics

• Utility
• Demand and Supply
• Market Equilibrium
• Elasticity
• Factors of Production
• Labour and Unemployment
• Land and Capital
• Enterprise
• Sustainability
• Scarcity, Efficiency and Opportunity Cost

Section B – Macro Economics

• National Income, GNI and GNP
• Circular flow of income and the Multiplier
• Government
• Government Intervention
• Fiscal Policy and Taxation
• Market Failure
• Economic History

English

This course is intended to place a firm focus on exam technique, question analysis and essay writing skills. Detailed revision notes will be provided to facilitate effective revision of key topics. Sample answers and approaches to responding to exam questions will be an integral part of the course.

Day 1:

• Exam paper overview
• Paper 1 – Approaching QA plus sample answers

Day 2:

• Paper 1 – Approaching QB plus sample answers
• Composition – Discursive essay writing plus sample answers

Day 3:

• Paper 2 – Othello – Single text essay structure plus sample essays

Day 4:

• Paper 2 – Approaching the Unseen Poem
• Prescribed Poetry – detailed notes on Patrick Kavanagh and Emily Dickinson
• How to write a prescribed poetry essay plus sample answers

Day 5:

• Paper 2 – Comparative Technique – Cultural Context plus sample answers

French

This comprehensive course is designed to help you focus on what you need to succeed in the Leaving Cert French exam. The course offers a comprehension treatment of core grammar areas including: Le Présent de l’Indicatif, Le Futur Simple, Le Futur Proche and Le Passé Composé, Le Plus-que-parfait, Le Conditionnel, Les Adjectifs, Les Adverbes

This course will also provide you with everything you need to achieve success in the written and listening comprehension exams.

• Reading Comprehensions: Answering technique and key pitfalls to be avoided on the day of the exam
• Listening Comprehensions: Examination technique and answering strategies
• Written Production: Here the focus will be on core vocabulary, answering strategies and sample answers for Diary Entries and Reaction Pieces.
• Oral Notes

This course is designed to link with the Easter Revision Course in order to provide you with the most comprehensive route to success.

Geography

Course A: Physical Environment

Plate Tectonics

• Theory of Plate Tectonics
• Plate boundary types
• Volcanoes

Rocks

• Formation of rocks – igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic
• Human interaction with the rock cycle (geothermal energy production)

Landform Development

• Features of deposition (rivers and coasts)
• Overview of glaciation and mass movement

8 and 20 Mark Questions

• OS map and aerial photo skills
• Sketch maps
• Weather maps

Exam analysis and marking scheme interpretation throughout topics.

This course is designed to link with the Easter Revision Course in order to provide you with the most comprehensive route to success.

Course B: Regional Geography

Concept of a Region

• Socio-economic regions
• Urban regions
• 8-mark questions

Primary Economic Activities

• Irish and European regions

Tertiary Economic Activities

• Irish and European regions

Complexity of Regions (i)

• Interaction between economic, cultural, and physical processes

20 Mark Questions

• Sketch map of regions
• Data interpretation

Exam analysis and marking scheme interpretation throughout topics.

Course C: Elective Unit – Human Environment

Population Characteristics

• Changing fertility and mortality rates over time and space. Demographic Transition Model and population pyramids
• Population distribution and density

Migration

• Push and pull factors
• Rural to urban migration, causes and effects (Ireland and Brazil)

Patterns of Rural and Urban Settlement

• Questions based on OS maps i.e. historical, settlement distribution, settlement patterns
• Planning strategies in rural areas

Urban Problems

• Traffic movement and congestion
• Urban decay and urban sprawl
• Heritage and environmental issues

20 Mark Questions

• Sketch OS maps and aerial photos
• Data interpretation
• Producing graphs

Desert and Rainforest Biome

• Human interaction with Biomes
• Exam analysis and marking scheme interpretation throughout topics

German

Classes in this intensive course are exam-focused and students are encouraged to gain confidence in their language skills

Reading Comprehension

• Students are introduced to both journalistic/literary styles of texts, with in-depth concentration on answering skills/techniques.
• How to maximise your grade in the reading comprehension section.
• How to get a H1 in the Aural and Written sections of the paper.

Aural Comprehension

• Listening skills required for the LC Aural with marking scheme and tape scripts provided.
• Authentic German passages will be used.
• How to get the H1 grade.

Written

• How to structure German sentences, with special emphasis on written tasks for the exam.
• The course will concentrate on building and developing the student’s communicative skills in written proficiency to enable them to achieve their maximum potential in the Leaving Cert.
• Written themes/in-depth written technique covered.

Grammar

• Cases
• Tenses
• Word Order
• Relative Pronouns

History

Section A: Irish History

Module 1: Sovereignty and Partition, 1912-1949

• The Home Rule Crisis, 1912-1914
• The 1916 Rising
• The rise of ‘new’ Sinn Féin, 1916-1921
• The War of Independence

• Students will receive a sample pack of essays
• Students will receive a presentation on how to write more effective Leaving Cert History essays

Module 2: Movements for Reform, 1870-1914 (Compulsory DBQ Section of exam)

• The Rise of Parnell
• The 1885 and 1886 Elections (Case Study)

• Students will receive an overview pack on the Rise of Parnell and the development of the Home Rule movement in Irish political affairs
• Students will be given a presentation on how to address and answer the DBQ section of the Leaving Cert History exam.

Section B: European History

Module 1: The United States and the Wider World, 1945-1989

• Factors that contributed to the growth and decline of the US Economy, 1945-1989
• The Age of Consensus
• The Changing role of Women and Family
• Developments in race relations, 1945-1954
• The Montgomery Bus Boycott, 1955-1956 (Case Study)
• The contribution of Matin Luther King to US Affairs

• Students will receive a sample answer pack of essays

Module 2: Dictatorship and Democracy, 1920-1945

• Weimar Germany
• The Rise of Facism in Europe
• The 1934 Nuremberg Rallies (Case Study)
• Britain between the Wars
• The Jarrow March, 1936 (Case Study)

• Students will receive a sample answer pack of essays

Home Economics

Day 1

• Vitamins
• Minerals
• Analysis of Tables/Charts Q1 Section B

Day 2

• Fruit/Vegetables
• Cereals
• Approach to answering Section A

Day 3

• Food safety legislation
• Bacteria/Food poisoning
• Irish Food Industry
• Approach to answering B3

Day 4

• Menu planning
• Food packaging and labelling
• Sensory analysis

Day 5

• Textiles (from the core syllabus)
• Motor/Heating element appliances

Irish

This course aims to maximise students’ ability to achieve the highest possible grade in the Leaving Cert Higher Level Irish exam.

Comprehensive questions and answers are covered in all sections, with specific emphasis on the oral component. In relation to the ‘literature’ sections of the exam, in-depth notes are supplied and explained throughout the course, along with the allocation iof marks and common pitfalls students should avoid.

Many grammatical areas required for a H1 grade will be covered, with full and comprehensive sample answers supplied.

Topics from:

• Béaltriail
• Ceapadóireacht
• Léamhthuiscint
• Gramadach
• Filíocht
• Prós
• Cluastuiscint
• Dordán and An Nollaig Thiar

Maths (Higher) Fast Pace

Paper 1

Day 1: Algebra

Day 2: Graphs

Day 3: Powers and Logs

Day 4: Sequences and Series

Day 5: Patterns questions

Paper 2

Day 1: Trigonometry

Day 2: Practical Trigonometry

Day 3: Areas and Volumes

Day 4: Coordinate Geometry: The Line

Day 5: Coordinate Geometry: The Circle

The Normal and Fast Pace classes will cover the same topics. As well as a somewhat different selection of questions, the Fast Pace classes may consider some slightly more advance issues.

Maths (Higher)

Paper 1

Day 1: Algebra

Day 2: Graphs

Day 3: Powers and Logs

Day 4: Sequences and Series

Day 5: Patterns questions

Paper 2

Day 1: Trigonometry

Day 2: Practical Trigonometry

Day 3: Areas and Volumes

Day 4: Coordinate Geometry: The Line

Day 5: Coordinate Geometry: The Circle

The Normal and Fast Pace classes will cover the same topics. As well as a somewhat different selection of questions, the Fast Pace classes may consider some slightly more advance issues.

Maths (Ordinary)

Paper 1

Algebra

• Factorising and Solving Quadratic Equations
• The Quadratic Formula
• Solving Simultaneous Equations (both types)

Complex Numbers

• Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication & Division
• Conjugates
• Plotting on an Argand Diagram
• Modulus
• Solving Quadratics & Verifying Roots

Functions and Graphs

• Types of functions (relating to Algebra)
• Types of Graphs
• Questions relating to Calculus

Calculus

• Rule (How to Differentiate)
• Max and Min turning points of curves
• Equations of tangeants to curves

Number Patterns

• Sequences and Series

Paper 2

Coordinate Geometry of the Line

• Distance, Midpoint, Slope and Equation
• Verifying points on lines
• Graphing Lines
• Intersecting Lines

Coordinate Geometry of the Circle

• Centre, Radius & Equation
• Points on, inside or outside circles
• Graphing circles
• Lines and Circles

Trigonometry 1

• Right angled Triangle rules
• Area
• Sine Rule
• Cosine Rule

Trigonometry 2

• Non right-angled Triangle rules
• Area
• Sine Rule
• Cosine Rule

Transformations

• Dilations
• Translation
• Symmetry

Music

Listening

• Aural skills Q6
• Set Work 1 of 4 Berlioz
• Set Work 2 of 4 Beatles

Composing

• Melody: Composing a 16-bar Major Melody (Question 1)

Performing

• Music Technology
• Unprepared Tests

The Normal and Fast Pace classes will cover the same topics. As well as a somewhat different selection of questions, the Fast Pace classes may consider some slightly more advance issues.

Politics and Society

Section A: Power and Decision Making

Session A1: The Social Contract and Social Class

• Integrating Key Thinkers into your essay writing – Focusing on Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, Karl Marx, and Robert Nozick
• The essay marking scheme ( including paragraph/essay structure and presenting a ‘counter-narrative’)

Session A2: Education and Gender

• Examining the work of Paulo Freire, Sylvia Walby, Kathleen Lynch, and Martha Nussbaum. Assessing inequalities and developments in Ireland’s education system and gender inequalities
• Sample exam essays and past DBQs

Session A3: Preparing the Data-Based Question and converting DBQs into essay case studies

• Key terminology in DBQs, including structures for the 10 and 20-mark answers
• Key concepts including Sampling, Bias, Authorship, Comparative Approaches, and the DES-highlighted key terms: ‘analyse/compare/critique/discuss/evaluate/justify/comment’
• Sample answers from previous SEC exams with student responses and outlines for improving overall grades in this area. Special attention will be paid to approaching the 50 mark questions
• H1 sample answers from 2024 & 2025

Session A4: Irish Political Structures

• This session focuses on addressing the much anticipated exam question examining the ‘effectiveness of the the Irish system of elections in representing the will of all the Irish people’. This includes ‘Selecting an Executive’, ‘Political Structures and Oversight’, Irish Local Government, the Irish Presidency, and movements for political reform.

Section B: Human Rights and Media

Session 1: Introduction to Human Rights and the European Convention on Human Rights

• Key Human Rights terminology and concepts
• Structures, functions, and case studies exploring Ireland and the ECHR

Session 2: Human Rights, The United Nations and Domestic Protections

• Un and the Universal Periodic Review
• Assessing the UN Human Rights Council
• Exploring Human Rights ‘Backsliding’ in the Post-Covid world
• Structure, roles and evaluation of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission
• Sample past exam essays and short questions

Session 3: Children’s Rights in Ireland

• UNCRC: Ireland’s responsibilities under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child
• The 2012 Children’s Rights Referendum
• The role and effectiveness of the Ombudsman for Children’s Office (oco.ie)
• NGOs and Children’s Rights – The Children’s Rights Alliance ‘Report Card’
• Integrating Children’s Rights into a general Human Rights Essay

Session 4: Media 1

• Media key terminology and roles of the media
• Key thinker: Noam Chomsky and the 5 filters
• Media Regulation: Role of Comisiún na Meá (The Media Commission)
• Patterns in Media Ownership in Ireland and America

Session 5: Media 2

• Media Origination: Public Service Broadcasting, The Wire Services, Citizenship Journalism, and Fake News
• Social Media and Targeting Strategies, Media and Advertising, Case Study: #stopfundinghate
• The importance of the Press Freedom Index
• Media DBQs and possible Media Essay structures

Physics

Section A

This 5 day intensive course will cover key topics from Strand 1: Forces and Motion

• Vectors
• Linear motion
• Newton’s Laws
• Conservation of momentum
• Work energy model
• Uniform circular motion
• Gravitational fields

All notes will make reference to the unifying strand, The Nature of Science.

Section B

This 5 day intensive course will cover key topics from Strand 2: Wave Motion and Energy Transfer

• Wave properties
• Sound
• Resonance and stretched strings
• Refraction
• Diffraction
• Properties of Light
• Heat transfer

All notes will make reference to the unifying strand, The Nature of Science.

Spanish

The Oral Exam

• Understanding the Oral Exam
• Key grammar points for the oral exam: Present, Future, Conditional, Past Tense
• Interview: Expanding on common topics
• Sample answers
• Role plays – preparation
• Tips on how to perform best on exam day

Reading Comprehension

• Journalistic Text
• Exam Techniques and Vocabulary from past papers
• Vocabulary, Synonyms and False Friends

Writing

• Opinion Piece (structure, topics, vocabulary)
• Medioambiente, Tecnología, Jóvenes y Salud
• Writing techniques for Diary Entry and Notes

Listening Comprehension

• Vocabulary for the weather report
• Strategies to maximise marks