Our Subjects
Explore a range of subjects available through grinds and revision courses at The Institute of Education.
All Subjects
Our Grinds Subjects
English
Grinds in English give students the outside-the-classroom time to work on the skills that carry the most marks: essay writing, close reading and exam technique, at a pace that suits them rather than a full class of thirty.
With regular, focused sessions, students build the confidence to argue a point clearly and structure an answer under time pressure, backed by teachers who know exactly what the marking scheme rewards.
Irish
With 40% of the marks going to the oral, Irish is one subject where a student’s confidence speaking the language, not just their grammar, decides the grade, and that’s exactly what grinds are built to strengthen.
Regular, focused attention on pronunciation, vocabulary and spoken fluency gives students the practice they simply don’t get in a full class, so the oral stops being the part of the exam they dread.
Arabic
As a subject taken by a relatively small cohort of students, Arabic benefits enormously from focused grinds support, where a student’s specific gaps in vocabulary or grammar get addressed directly rather than folded into a general class.
Regular grinds with a native speaker help students build the confidence to read, write and converse fluently, turning steady vocabulary growth into stronger exam performance across all four skills.
Chinese
Mandarin Chinese asks students to master an entirely different writing system and tonal structure, and that’s exactly the kind of steep learning curve where focused grinds make the biggest difference.
Regular, targeted practice with an experienced teacher accelerates a student’s grasp of characters and pronunciation, building the fluency and confidence needed to perform well across every part of the exam.
Spanish
Spanish grinds give students the chance to practise speaking and get corrected in real time, the kind of immediate feedback that’s harder to come by in a full class working through the same four skills together.
With focused attention on vocabulary building and past paper practice, students steadily build up their ability to express opinions fluently, which is exactly what the oral and written papers reward.
French
French grinds let students focus in on whichever of the four exam areas is holding their grade back, whether that’s oral confidence, aural comprehension or written accuracy, rather than spreading effort evenly across a subject they may already be strong in elsewhere.
Regular sessions with an experienced teacher build steady vocabulary and exam technique over time, so that by exam season, students walk in having already rehearsed the kind of questions they’ll face.
Italian
Because Italian is studied by a smaller number of students, grinds offer a level of individual attention that’s hard to replicate in a full class, letting a student work through their specific weak points at their own pace.
With regular, exam-focused practice across all four skills, students build the vocabulary and confidence to perform well in both the oral and written papers.
German
German rewards steady, consistent vocabulary building over the two years of the Leaving Certificate, and grinds give students the regular, structured practice needed to keep that momentum going outside of school hours.
Working with an expert teacher on past papers and exam technique helps students turn textbook knowledge into exam-ready fluency, building the confidence to express their own opinions naturally in German.
Maths
As a compulsory subject where a single grade shift can affect a student’s CAO points, Maths is one of the most in-demand subjects for grinds, and for good reason: a student stuck on one topic can quickly lose confidence across the whole course.
Regular, focused grinds let a student go over exactly the topic they’re struggling with, working through exam-style questions with an experienced teacher until the method genuinely clicks, rather than waiting for the class to move on.
Applied Maths
As an optional subject taken by a smaller number of students, often alongside a heavy Maths and Physics workload, Applied Maths particularly benefits from the individual attention grinds provide.
Regular grinds give students the chance to work through complex, multi-step problems at their own pace with expert guidance, building the practical problem-solving skills the exam demands.
Agricultural Science
With both a practical and a written component to prepare for, Agricultural Science students benefit from grinds that can focus specifically on whichever part of the course needs the most work, whether that’s lab technique or exam theory.
Regular, exam-focused sessions help students consolidate the volume of course content into clear, structured knowledge that translates directly into marks.
Biology
Biology is a memory-heavy subject, and grinds give students regular, structured opportunities to revisit and consolidate course content rather than trying to absorb it all in the lead-up to the exam.
With an experienced teacher highlighting the topics that come up most often and working through past exam questions, students build the confidence to apply their knowledge accurately under exam conditions.
Chemistry
Chemistry combines heavy memory work with problem-solving, and grinds let students target whichever side of that balance they find harder, at a pace a packed classroom can’t always accommodate.
Regular, exam-focused grinds help students build a clear understanding of the marking scheme and stay on top of the topics that recur most often, turning revision into a steady, manageable process rather than a last-minute scramble.
Computer Science
As a relatively new Leaving Certificate subject with fewer established resources, Computer Science particularly benefits from the direct, expert guidance that grinds provide.
Regular sessions help students build genuine programming and computational thinking skills, rather than surface-level exam prep, giving them a stronger foundation for both the exam and any related third-level course.
Physics
Physics rewards a strong conceptual understanding of relatively few core ideas, and grinds give students the space to properly work through anything that hasn’t quite clicked in class before it becomes a bigger problem.
With regular, focused practice on past exam questions, students build the confidence to apply their understanding to unfamiliar problems, which is exactly where marks are often lost or won.
Physical Education
With two projects forming a significant part of the final grade, LCPE students benefit from dedicated grinds support to plan, draft and refine their project work well ahead of submission deadlines.
Regular sessions also help students connect the theory they’re learning to practical sporting examples, building the kind of applied understanding the written exam rewards.
Home Economics
Home Economics covers a wide range of detailed, fact-based content, and grinds give students the regular, structured revision time needed to retain and organise that volume of information.
With an experienced teacher’s guidance, students learn how to structure their study time efficiently and develop the higher order thinking skills the exam demands, skills that carry over well beyond the Leaving Certificate.
Accounting
Accounting is a numeracy-based subject where consistent practice matters more than last-minute revision, and grinds give students the regular repetition needed to build genuine confidence with figures.
Working through past papers with an experienced corrector of the Leaving Certificate exam helps students understand exactly what the marking scheme rewards, turning technical accuracy into exam marks.
Business
Business is a broad subject covering everything from enterprise to management, and grinds let students focus in on whichever areas of the course they find hardest to apply to real world examples.
Regular, exam-focused sessions using up-to-date case studies help students connect theory to practice, building the kind of confident, well-structured answers that score well under exam conditions.
Economics
Economics rewards students who can connect classroom theory to real world events, and grinds give students regular time to work through current examples with an experienced teacher, well beyond what a single class period allows.
With consistent practice on past papers and the marking scheme, students build the confidence to construct clear, well-reasoned economic arguments in their exam answers.
Classical Studies
As an essay-based subject built on the interpretation of primary sources, Classical Studies benefits from the kind of individual feedback and discussion that grinds can offer.
Regular sessions help students develop and refine their essay writing skills, building the confidence to present a well-argued case on exam day.
Geography
Geography covers a huge range of physical and human topics, and grinds give students dedicated time to work through whichever areas of the course they find hardest, using current, real world examples.
Regular, exam-focused practice on past papers and the marking scheme helps students turn broad course knowledge into the kind of clear, structured answers that score well.
History
With a research report worth 20% of the final grade, History students particularly benefit from dedicated grinds support to plan, draft and refine that project well ahead of the deadline.
Regular sessions also give students the structured revision needed to build a strong grasp of the marking scheme and produce detailed, well-supported essay answers.
Politics and Society
As one of the newest subjects on the curriculum, Politics and Society particularly benefits from the kind of direct, expert guidance grinds can offer, helping students navigate a syllabus that’s still relatively unfamiliar to many.
Regular sessions encourage students to challenge ideas and explore current topics in more depth, building the analytical skills the exam rewards.
Religious Education
Religious Education asks students to explore big, open-ended questions, and grinds give them the regular space to discuss and challenge ideas in more depth than a single class period allows.
With consistent, structured revision and exam-focused notes, students build a clear, confident grasp of the course content ahead of their final assessment.
Art
With a practical portfolio at the heart of the subject, Art students benefit enormously from regular, individual guidance to develop and refine their work outside of school hours.
Grinds give students dedicated time with an experienced teacher to build both their exam pieces and their third-level portfolio, making sure their strongest work is ready well ahead of deadlines.
Design and Communications Graphics (DCG)
With 40% of the final grade attributed to a single major assignment, DCG students benefit from dedicated grinds support to plan and complete that project to the highest standard.
Regular sessions also give students the consistent practice needed to build confidence in the applied geometry theory paper, turning a subject some find abstract into a clear, logical process.
Music
With practical performance forming a significant part of the exam, Music students benefit from regular, one-to-one grinds to refine their technique well ahead of their assessment.
Grinds also give students dedicated time to work through the music technology and theory elements of the course with an expert teacher, building the confidence to perform well across every part of the exam.