Leaving Certificate English invites students into rich experiences with language so that they become fluent and thoughtful users of it and more aware of its significance in their lives. It develops a range of literacy and oral skills in a variety of areas, personal, social, and cultural. Students develop a wide range of skills and concepts. These will allow them to interpret and enjoy a range of material so that they become independent learners who can operate independently in the world beyond the school.

Leaving Certificate English is assessed at two levels, Ordinary and Higher level. 

AIMS 
 
The aims of this syllabus are to develop in students: 

  • A mature and critical literacy to prepare them for the responsibilities and challenges of adult life in all contexts.
  • A respect and appreciation for language used accurately and appropriately and a competence in a wide range of language skills both oral and written.
  • An awareness of the value of literature in its diverse forms for enriching their perceptions, for enhancing their sense of cultural identity, and for creating experiences of aesthetic pleasure.
  • In addressing these aims this syllabus will foster students' development in the following areas:
    • ​CONCEPTS & PROCESSES: the ability to think, reason, discriminate and evaluate in a wide variety of linguistic contexts, personal, social, vocational and    cultural. In comprehending, students should be able to analyze, infer, synthesise and evaluate; in composing, students should be able to research, plan, draft, re-  draft, and edit.
    • KNOWLEDGE & CONTENT: knowledge about the nature and uses of language and the variety of functions and genres in which it operates. In this context genres of literature will be of particular significance.
    • SKILLS: interpreting and controlling the textual features (grammar, syntax, spellings, paragraphing) of written and oral language to express and communicate.
    • ATTITUDES & EFFECTS: the development of interest and enjoyment in using language, a respect for its potential to make meaning and an appreciation of its diverse cultural manifestations.

LEARNING OUTCOMES:  
  • The language of information
  • The language of argument
  • The language of persuasion
  • The language of narration
  • The aesthetic use of language 
Scoil Phobail Bhéara has registered for the National Drop Everything and Read (DEAR) Challenge on Friday, the 24th of April at 12pm for 20 minutes. The idea is to promote the importance of Reading for Pleasure.
Many thanks to poet and past pupil, Leanne O’Sullivan, for her generous gift of book tokens. The English Department purchased some lovely new novels to add to the Junior Cycle reading press, which students access during their ‘reading for enjoyment’ class. January 2020. 
Well done to Chloe O’Connor who competed at the semi final of Poetry Aloud poetry speaking competition at the National Library Dublin, November 2019.