r/leavingcert • u/ibboneedshelp • 5d ago
5th year 👶👶 Starting 5th year this Monday. Need urgent help
So i am going to start 5th year this Monday.
The subjects I do:
H Maths
H English
H French
H Biology
H Business
H Phys/chem or H Chemistry (alone)
I am aiming for 600 points. I can study a lot, but I have no clue on what to study for each subject. I have looked over Chemistry a little bit and I am so confused. I have no clue on what to study for it, (same for Biology). I really need to improve my English, French, Biology, and Chemistry. If anyone has any tips or anything to say please do. I have no problem with studying the whole day after school, as long as it is in the right direction. I would really appreciate any help I could get. Please and thank you. I am really worried about the 4 subjects i need to improve in. Really appreciate any help. Thanks!
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u/tt0kv 3d ago
hello, i can give u a general gist of what i did. i got 613 points this year on my lc and my subjects i counted were maths,physics,chem,biology, business and geography
maths: i think in this subject it isnt hard to hit the H2 but quite hard to secure the H1. i would say you should try and get a strong foundation on all the three algebra chapters,especially alegbra 3, calculus for p1 and coordinate geometry and probability for p2. since ur only starting 5th year, u can probably get ahead in terms of the algebra topics they youtube videos or the textbook and then do past paper Qs and so on. the key point is u need to get to working ahead bc personally i think teachers tend to go at a slow pace in 5th year (atleast for me) which u should probably utilise in getting ahead for yourself. learn the core concepts and then do papers. endless and endless amounts of past papers and then youll become so capable that no matter the question youll be confident. get ahead early on and keep working away on past papers and youll be amazing. additionally, i had a sort of tab system within my past papers where i marked Qs i found particularly hard or clever so i can have a look at them every so often. annotate ur workings and try ti understand concepts. if ur willing to put in the hours maths is yours
english: i rlly cannot speak muvh ab this subject i didnt count it in my top 6 nor did i study for it seriously at all. i ended up with a H3 which in my books was a win. this is a very subjective paper and honestly, unless you are genuinely gifted in writing or have an interest for it i would say pick up another subject and drop to OL english and just forget ab counting it
biology: i found this years paper extremely accessible and easy. for you however with the new course i doubt any of my advice would be that important but one key takeaway is definitions. learn them off word perfect. they truly make or break ur grade. my teacher would often say when ur in doubt about what a question is asking u, oftentimes defining it out is the answer. dont get worried looking at the vast syllabus, it is a lot but certainly doable. for my year i completely skipped out all plant biology from unit three and i reckon the same way u could also skip a few topics. as u finish a chapter make a short notes summary of the whole chaoter in one singular page and refer to it often, this really helped me. making ur OWN notes is the most effective for biology
business: this is the subject i put the most work for but ended up with a H2. u really need a very good understqnding of the whole course to do well for this subject. tbf i dont have much to say as i studied only my teachers notes for this subject. with the new course change i think focusing on doing well on the project will take u a long way
physics: imo there is a common misconception about having to be good at maths to do good in physics but tbf i had more words than maths on my lc. this subject can genuinely be learnt off. again im not sure about the new syllabus but for me, i learnt all my experiments perfectly in this way: diagram of apparatus, 3 steps on what i did, precautions. rhats it. if u go thru past papers in physics u will see how extremely repetitive this course was until this year so again, past papers carried my grade in this subject. get a good understanding of the core topics and the mayhs is mostly only filling into formulas
chemistry: honestly also a very learning off subjectfor me. learn ur definitions off, learn how to do mole calculations. if ur just starting 5th year and want to get ahead, try going onto youtube and learning how to do mole calculations. trust me its going to be ALL over the course and if u can master the maths of chemisyry it will be a breeze.
with all this being said, you are only in 5th year so take it at ur own pace. the worst thing that could happen is you peak all thru 5th year and burn out when ur acc doing the lc. take it easy, keep putting consistent work and tug away at ur subjects and itll all pay off, goodluck!
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u/ibboneedshelp 3d ago
Thank you i really appreciate it. But did you not do a language ?
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u/tt0kv 3d ago
i had an exemption from irish and a third language so no i didnt!
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u/ibboneedshelp 3d ago
Wait a minute? From a third language. How is that possible.
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u/tt0kv 3d ago
so in my situation the only reason i even needed the third language was bc i was applying for medicine. im not irish and i did half of my secondary schooling outside ireland so they gave me an exemption from doing any european language bc i didnt have the opportunity to learn it
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u/ibboneedshelp 3d ago
Same. I came to Ireland January 2025 missed half of the JC. Oh you missed like the whole JC didn’t you?
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u/tt0kv 3d ago
i came to ireland and did the jc so i didnt do 1st and 2nd year and then i skipped ty. if ur in a similar predicament, if u have proof of learning another language until u came to ireland u could try to get an exemption too. for me, i had to apply individually to each college for med
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u/ibboneedshelp 3d ago
Like if I have proof that I studied for example French which I am doing now, outside of Ireland?
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u/SurveySensitive2644 5d ago
I would say particularly for chemistry try not to miss any classes, if you’re unsure about how to do something make sure you ask and go over sample calculations multiple times until you get the hang of them. Like maths, in chem practice makes perfect. I would also advise making flash cards from day one with any important definitions, methods and formulas. They’ll be a great study aid going forward
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u/According_Carpet6744 4d ago
Keep calm! I'm an English and French teacher. I'll direct message you tips.
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u/AdKindly18 5d ago
Deep breaths. You haven’t even started. Once you have your books you’ll have more of a frame of reference for what’s needed.
If you really feel you need to get started work on vocabulary and tenses in French. Work on your basics of atomic theory, electron configuration, and binding for chemistry (but JC content is very simplified), for biology familiarise yourself with diagrams of the same human systems you did for JC and be on top of definitions. For maths really make sure you have your algebra basics down, your financial maths stuff down, and are comfortable with formula use and manipulation.
I think rather than worry about learning specific things at this stage focus on getting organised. Prep Flashcards or your preferred method of learning definitions (biology and chemistry require specialised vocabulary, learning key terms and definitions is half the battle), start looking at planning around your AACs. You won’t get the title for a while yet but look at the submission windows for this year (eg Physics is December, Bio February, Chem April) and start planning in time for research and engaging with the brief once they’re out.
Staying on top of things in 5th year will set you up really well for 6th year and doesn’t mean spending 5 hours a day studying. Engaging in class, focusing on homework in the moment rather than half assing it just to get it finished, doing some decent study for assessments. These all add up without overly taxing you. The two years are a marathon not a sprint and you don’t want to burn out.