In focus/Leaving Cert Applied: A common gripe about the Leaving Cert is how little of a student's potential and talent it actually measures. If someone has a good memory and an ability to write a reasonable essay, they will probably do well, get their points and go on to third level.

There are students though who are not well served by the standard exam system. It does nothing to complement their strengths and just serves to highlight their weaknesses.

Others would rather go straight into work rather than on to further study. The established Leaving Cert does little to prepare them for what lies ahead.

There is an alternative education for students such as these, who are not catered for within the traditional Leaving Cert system.

Now in its 10th year, the Leaving Cert Applied is a two-year programme that aims to prepare students for adult and working life.

It evaluates talents and aptitudes that are not recognised in the established Leaving Cert and, probably most crucially, it allows students to explore the world of work through substantial work experience modules.

The programme is not provided in every school, but it is growing. "We started off with 53 schools in 1996," says national co-ordinator Sheila O'Driscoll. "We now have 360 schools providing the option with 20 more due to introduce it next September."

Abbeyfeale Community College in Limerick introduced the Leaving Cert applied in 1999. According to deputy principal Seán Kennedy, who has co-ordinated the programme from the start, the improvements are significant. It has, for example, virtually eliminated the school's drop-out rate.

"The Leaving Cert suits about 80 per cent of students," Kennedy says. "The Leaving Cert applied provides an option for those who know that they want to go into the world of work after they leave school."

Graduates of the applied programme don't necessarily start working straight away, however.

Rita Nolan, co-ordinator of the programme in Galway's Meánscoil Mhuire, or The Mercy as it is more commonly known, says many go on to further study. "I would find that a lot of students go into post-Leaving Cert courses," she says. "Some are doing courses in the institutes of technology as well."

The applied programme differs from the Leaving Cert in both its structure and its methods of assessment. The two years are broken down into four half-year blocks known as sessions.

Subjects range from languages, mathematical applications and social education to hair and beauty, engineering and dance. Guidance, community work, job and general life skills also feature strongly.

Students are awarded credits at the end of each session and their final grade depends on the number of credits gained throughout the programme. There is a final exam but it only accounts for about a third of the overall marks.

"The continuous assessment is very valuable," says Kennedy. "Some of these students would have had bad experiences with exams, getting poor results over the years but with this form of assessment they can be very successful."

Considering many applied students intend joining the workforce straight after school, an obvious advantage is the work experience module. During the programme, many end up changing their minds about their initial career choice. Kennedy has observed that at the beginning of the two years, a significant proportion of the boys do their work experience on building sites.

He has found that by the end, most of them have either changed their minds or have started to look at specialising, in plumbing or carpentry for example.

If the students impress, the work experience can lead to apprenticeships or full-time jobs.

"Almost 100 per cent of our students who went straight into work got their job through a contact made during work experience," says Kennedy.

Of course the Leaving Cert applied is not without its faults.

Rita Nolan would like to see a slightly more open programme in terms of interacting with the other Leaving Cert classes.

"There is a positive and a negative side to the self contained nature of the Leaving Cert applied," she says, "but I think that the separation may be a deterrent to some students who might be suited to the programme."

She is in no doubt as to the benefits of the programme for those that it suits. "It teaches students about deadlines, investigations, report writing, things that they will encounter in the working world."

Kennedy agrees. "I would have observed myself that students who do the Leaving Cert applied are often more mature than students who sit the traditional Leaving Cert. They are in the workplace and they are conducting independent research."

For further information visit www.lca.slss.ie