Leaving Cert Crash Courses

This course gives students an insight into what they can expect in the Leaving Certificate Exam. A key element will be to focus on the previous exam questions and also on how to pick up easy marks. Students should bring their book of exam papers to this course. The following topics will be covered:

• Company Final Accounts including Manufacturing.
• Published Accounts.
• Club Accounts.
• Correction of Errors and Suspense Accounts.
• Incomplete Records.
• Cash Budgeting including Production Budget.
• Service Firm Accounts.
• Interpretation of Accounts.

Meet your Accounting Teacher – Don Tierney: Don Tierney has 20 years of experience in teaching Leaving Cert Accounting. Prior to that, he spent two years working as an Accountant. He has a wide range of teaching experience in the subject. Confidence is instilled in his students as the students receive constant guidance and encouragement on how to earn top marks in their exams. He shares with the student’s exam techniques and equally as important, the most frequent and highly avoidable mistakes and over the years a high percentage of his students go on to study Accounting at Third level.

About the teacher – Kieran Mills: Kieran Mills has 25 years’ experience teaching Physics. He has co-written several books including Leaving Certificate Sample Papers. Kieran has been an expert contributor on Physics on RTÉ Radio.

Students will benefit from a set of notes containing all the mandatory experiments on the Biology syllabus. They will also receive comprehensive, exam-focused notes on the following topics:

• Ecology
• Enzymes, Photosynthesis and Respiration
• Excretion
• Food and Human Nutrition
• Microorganisms (Bacteria, Fungi, Viruses)
• Human Reproduction
• Structure and Transport in Plants

Meet your Biology Teacher – David Lewis: David’s ability to relate to students has resulted in him becoming a popular teacher at The Academy. His teaching methods are unique and are tailored to the Biology Syllabus. As an examination corrector in Biology, David is adept at understanding the mistakes for which students frequently lose marks.

The following topics will be covered in detail:

• Enterprise
• Management Skills and Activities
• Human Resource Management
• Communications
• Accounting Ratios
• Marketing
• Business Expansion
• Types of Business Organisation
• Government and Business

Students will receive a Time Management Plan, which tells them what topics they must focus on. This course will also show students the common mistakes that are made on exam day and they will be taught to prevent these from happening.

While notes will be given on the entire course (Units 1-7). This revision course will only focus on Units 4, 5, 6 & 7. In previous years, (2013, 2008 & 2003) , that the ABQ question was based on Units 5, 6 & 7  Units 4-7 alone would have covered candidates for approximately 95% of the paper.

About the teacher – Ronan Murdock: Rónán Murdock is the Head of the Business Department at The Dublin Academy of Education. He is the author of the Leaving Certificate Business Revision textbook, and is a popular teacher amongst students due to his ability to help them relate to the subject. Rónán is known for instilling confidence in students due to his deep understanding of the syllabus and marking scheme. He has also been an expert contributor on Leaving Cert Business for RTÉ Radio.

Firstly, mandatory experiments will be covered. These experiments can account for between 25% and 37.5% of the exam paper. Past Leaving Cert and possible Leaving Cert questions and solutions will be provided for all topics. Strategies to maximise grades will be provided, with particular emphasis on the marking scheme. The following topics, specifically chosen to ensure maximum choice for the exam, will be covered:

• Fuels & Heats of Reaction
• Equilibrium
• pH & Indicators
• Acids and Bases
• Volumetric Analysis
• Organic Chemistry
• Water

Meet your Chemistry Teacher – Dr. Nichola Walsh: Nichola Walsh has a first-class honours degree in chemistry and Ph.D. from U.C.D. and she completed her Postgraduate Certificate in Education at the University of Oxford.  She is an experienced teacher who has taught G.C.S.E, A-level, and Leaving Certificate chemistry and was an undergraduate chemistry tutor and lab demonstrator in U.C.D.  She is a passionate teacher who loves teaching science and this comes across in her classes.  Nichola is also an examiner for higher-level Leaving Cert Chemistry, which has given her an invaluable insight into grading the chemistry paper.  She regularly incorporates this knowledge into her classes to ensure students maximise their marks.

The following topics will be covered in detail:

• Supply, Demand and Elasticity
• Costs of Production
• Market Structures
• Factors of Production
• International Trade
• Inflation and Banking
• National Income
• Government Finances

Meet your Economics Teacher – Rob Quinlan: With a master’s degree in economics along with correcting the Leaving Cert at state level for the past 6 years, Rob instils passion, interest and competence in students to obtain results of which they are capable. A methodical approach in making the subject relevant to students by understanding the economic climate around them is merged with the tools to navigate through all possible questions as proficiently as possible in exams. Rob has also 5 years’ experience as an Irish oral examiner as well as teaching and tutoring in UCD and Irish summer courses.

The English course focuses on building the techniques that the examiner expects you to be able to both use and analyse. You will be confident that you have our formula with which to navigate the probable exam questions. This course focuses firstly on gaining an awareness of what the examiner wants and then providing the confidence to be able to supply it. It is a myth that English can’t be trained for. The following topics will be covered:

• Essay writing 
• King Lear
• Comparative
• Poetry (Seen and Unseen)

About the teacher – Gavin Cowzer: Gavin Cowzer is regarded as a leading English teacher in this country. Having developed a passion for this subject, including obtaining a Master’s degree, Gavin’s teaching style is focused on covering the syllabus in a concise way, so that students have the tools to successfully manage the likely exam questions. His experience correcting exams gives his students an edge in a subject which is often assumed to be an art. However it is clear that there is a strict science behind doing well in the Leaving Certificate English exam and Gavin’s students will be guided by this little-known fact.

There will be a heavy emphasis on your game plan for the exam and a focus on learning how to “minimise mistakes and maximise marks”. The following topics will be covered in detail:

• Aural Comprehension
• Reading Comprehension
• Written Section Marking Scheme
• Essay Tasks
• Journal Intime/Diary Entry

Meet your French Teacher – Amy Weddell: Amy Weddell has an International Degree in French and German and has spent time living in both countries. This, coupled with the Professional Masters in Education providing training on up to date teaching methodologies, ensures that she holds the skills to successfully aid students at any level to access language curricula, at both an academic and cultural level. An integration of language-learning skills based on the acquisition of language, such as phonics, provides all students with a strong foundation ensuring that they achieve the best possible grade in their Leaving Cert French exams.

By the end of this course, students will be extremely well-equipped to excel in the leaving cert exam. They will receive comprehensive, exam-focused handouts on the topics below, as well as expert advice on the best techniques for tackling the exam on the day. The following areas will be covered in detail:

• Short questions 
• Physical geography
• Regional geography
• Geoecology (Soils and Biomes)

Meet your Geography Teacher – Tracy Gannon: Tracy holds a Honours Bachelor’s Degree in Mathematics and Geography, a Professional Diploma in Education & Master of Education. Her passion for her subjects has been shown in her ambition to further educate herself whilst also being a full-time post-primary teacher & part-time lecturer in University College Dublin.

Tracy’s style of teaching instils confidence in her students by providing them with a well-defined understanding of the syllabus. Her teaching experience and work as a state examiner have afforded her the opportunity to have a key insight into preparing her students to achieve top marks in their final exams.

Meet your Home Economics Teacher – Anna McAllister: Anna McAllister is a dedicated and passionate teacher with over 30 years experience at both 2nd & 3rd level. With her vast experience she brings a organised and structured approach to teaching, ensuring the very best Leaving Certificate preparation for her students. Extensive experience correcting the Leaving Certificate provides her students with a technical and accurate approach to their preparation for answering Leaving Certificate questions.

The following topics will be covered:

• Integration/Functions/Differentiation
• Sequences and Series and Patterns
• Financial Maths
• Complex Numbers
• Induction
• Algebra
• Injective/Surjective/Bijective

Note: Students will also receive Robert’s predictions for the Leaving Certificate.

About the teacher – Robert Browne: Robert Browne has a unique ability to stimulate students’ interest and is renowned for giving students the confidence they thought wasn’t there. Robert has vast experience, having taught at education workshops in Trinity College, Dublin.  He has appeared in the media leading discussions on Maths, syllabus content, teaching methods and exams. Robert teaches in a systematic and clear way that relates to students.

The following topics will be covered:

• Trigonometry
• Statistics
• Probability
• Co-ordinate geometry of the line
• Co-ordinate geometry of the circle

Note: Students will also receive Robert’s predictions for the Leaving Certificate.

About the teacher – Robert Browne: Robert Browne has a unique ability to stimulate students’ interest and is renowned for giving students confidence they thought wasn’t there. Robert has vast experience, having taught at education workshops in Trinity College, Dublin.  He has appeared in the media leading discussions on Maths, syllabus content, teaching methods and exams. Robert teaches in a systematic and clear way that relates to students.

The following topics will be covered:

Paper 1

• Algebra
• Sequences, Series and Patterns
• Functions and Calculus
• Complex Numbers

Paper 2

• The Line
• The Circle
• Trigonometry
• Area and Volume
• Probability
• Statistics
• Geometry

Note: Students will also receive Tracy’s predictions for the Leaving Cert.

Meet your Maths Teacher – Tracy Gannon: Tracy Gannon holds an Honours Bachelor’s Degree in Mathematics and Geography, a Professional Diploma in Education & Master of Education. Her passion for her subjects has been shown in her ambition to further educate herself whilst also being a full-time post-primary teacher & part-time lecturer in University College Dublin.

Tracy’s style of teaching instils confidence in her students by providing them with a well-defined understanding of the syllabus. Her teaching experience and work as a Leaving Cert Geography state examiner have afforded her the opportunity to have a key insight into preparing her students to achieve top marks in their final exams.

Students will receive summaries for the entire course. These summaries contain the critical information required for the exam. Students will also receive our teacher’s predictions for the Leaving Cert. The following topics will be covered:

• Light: Diffraction and Interference
• Sound: Standing Waves
• Electricity: Circuits
• Modern Physics: Nucleus

About the teacher – Kieran Mills: Kieran Mills has 25 years’ experience teaching Physics. He has co-written several books including Leaving Certificate Sample Papers. Kieran has been an expert contributor on Physics on RTÉ Radio.

Topics Covered:

• Search for meaning and value
• Christianity Origins and Contemporary Expression
• World Religions
• Religion and Gender
• Exam technique and coursework

About the teacher – John Kilroy: John has 25 years experience of teaching and management in secondary schools. He has been assistant examiner for the Leaving Certificate in both History and Classical studies, which gives him an in-depth knowledge of what is required by students. He is also the publisher author of the Leaving Cert exam strategy articles in education supplements in the national express. 

This course focuses on manipulating the exam to your advantage. Firstly, the course focuses on building an awareness of what the examiner wants and then on providing the confidence to be able to supply it.  The following topics will be covered in detail:

• Aural Comprehension
• Reading Comprehension
• Opinion Piece/Essay
• Dialogue Construction
• Diary Entry

About the teacher – Katie Lenehan: Katie Lenehan holds a degree in French and Spanish, and a Professional Masters in Education. Katie’s training as a teacher was based on the most up to date education models and methodologies. Her knowledge of languages and linguistics, as well as teaching in some of the most prestigious schools in Dublin, will ensure that students obtain the best possible grades in their exams.