Irish: Don't attempt at higher level unless you have achieved a C grade at higher level in the Junior Certificate.

Maths: Again forget about higher level unless you got an honour in the Junior Cert.

English: A good higher-level subject for most students.

History: A subject for those who enjoy reading - a lot of reading

Geography:

With the growth of social geography, it is a very wide and interesting subject.

Languages: Be mindful of the aural and oral requirements. The emphasis now is on ability to speak languages.

Applied maths: Generally ideal for the student taking higher-level Maths and Physics. Otherwise, be wary!

Science subjects: Opt for a science subject if you feel comfortable with it. For the average students this often means biology.

Those taking physics tend to be mathematical, whereas the chemistry student tends to be particularly attracted to the subject matter.

Home economics - social and scientific: A combination of cooking, home economics and some biology. A very interesting subject, but not the easy honour that some imagine.

Business subjects: Business itself is a very interesting subject, but requires constant attention to the business pages of national newspapers. Economics is more mathematical and has a lot of theoretical work. Accounting is for the student with good book-keeping skills at Junior Certificate level.

Music and art: Not subjects to be dipped into for the first time at this level.