PROBLEM: My daughter is due to sit her Leaving Cert in two years. She seems to think there are some subjects where it's easier to get a high grade, such as the new "politics and society" course, which is offered in her school. Have you any advice?

ADVICE: Firstly, there has been a major change in the grading system to be used in the Leaving Cert from 2017 onwards. It replaces traditional A, B and C grades with a series of 10 per cent bands – seven of which are at higher and six at ordinary level – which will secure CAO points.

The critical difference between the new grading system and the old one is that students securing 30-40 per cent at higher level from 2017 onwards will be deemed to have passed. This mark would secure 37 CAO points, equivalent to a 70-80 per cent score on an ordinary level paper. Therefore, a student who performs very well in an ordinary level paper in the Junior Cert should seriously consider taking the subject at higher level, at least initially, given the new grading and CAO points system.

Secondly, regarding which subjects are easier to secure higher grades in, I can state without fear of contradiction that this theory has no validity. As a guidance counsellor, I have managed this process for my own students for over 20 years: the simple truth is the academic quality students put into a subject determines their Leaving Cert grades.

In subjects such as art and music, the proportion of students with high grades is high among a core students who have skills in these fields and have engaged with them throughout their lives. Similarly, in subjects such as higher level Irish – which has a 40 per cent oral component – the cohort who take it secure 90 per cent A, B or C grades at higher level.

In subjects such as physics and chemistry – which attract relatively small numbers of highly motivated students – a higher proportion of students secure higher grades compared with biology, which is taken by a majority of Leaving Cert students.

The same principle applies to subjects such as business and geography, which attract tens of thousands of students ranging from the brightest to those who struggle with higher-level papers.

Thirdly, regarding the new subject of politics and society, I would encourage your daughter to select it. I know I am biased, having graduated in this subject from UCD 40 years ago, but I believe it will provide second-level students with rich insights into issues such as how people act within our social systems, the concepts underpinning systems of government, the role of multinational companies, nongovernmental organisations and intergovernmental bodies in shaping the world we live in.

Students whose potential college choices would range across the liberal arts, social sciences and law should find this subject very engaging.

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