Course Outline

The new revised syllabus has been designed to cater for students of all abilities. It is much more activity-based than the previous syllabus and emphasises the practical experience of  science. Through investigations and experiments, students develop science processing skills and a knowledge of the underlying concepts.
The course has been broken down into three main sections as follows:
Biology – In this section of the course students will learn about human and plant biology.
Chemistry – The study of chemistry provides students with a better understanding of our material world and the processes by which materials change, including the study of acid and bases, the periodic table, water, oxygen, carbon dioxide, etc.
Physics – This section helps students explore and investigate the laws and relationships that govern our world and how things work, for example electricity, sound, light, motion, etc.

Practical and Project Work

Course Work A - 10% - Experiments are done in class and written up in a booklet format over the three years of study. 

Course Work B - 25% - The Department send three experiment titles two of which must be done by the student.  They are written up in a booklet that is sent away for correction.  In Glenamaddy Community School we assign one day for all third year students to carry out these experiments. 

Assessment

The Junior Certificate Science course is examined at both higher and ordinary levels.

The Junior Certificate marks are broken down as follows:

Course Work A - 10%

Course Work B - 25%

Examination in June - 65%

The written examination in June will have one exam paper and students will be given two hours to sit the exam.