Two new subjects will also be reintroduced.
Continuous assessment will become a key part of Leaving Cert exams under major reforms announced this afternoon.
Some 40% of exam marks in all subjects will be by continuous assessment with written exam deciding the rest.
The curricula for all subjects will be reviewed with new syllabus starting in 2024.
Two new subjects will also be created - 'Drama, Film and Theatre Studies'; and 'Climate Action and Sustainable Development'.
Paper one in English and Irish will now be taken at the end of fifth year for students starting with those entering senior cycle in September 2023.
Fianna Fáil education spokesperson and Deputy Chair of the Oireachtas Education Committee Senator Fiona O’Loughlin has welcomed the announcement for reform of the post-primary Education sector- ‘Equity and Excellence for All: where the student is at the centre of their Senior Cycle experience.’
The three tenets of Senior Cycle reform are to:
- Empower students to meet the challenges of the 21st century
- Enrich the student experience and build on what’s strong in our current system
- Embed wellbeing and reduce student stress levels
The reform programme has been informed by the Senior Cycle Review Advisory Report prepared by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA), which was also published today
Kildare Senator O'Loughlin commented: "This plan will reduce the pressure on students that comes from final assessments based primarily on examinations. As Deputy Chair of the Education Committee, I have engaged extensively with stakeholders from right across the sector.
" This plan will see us move to a model that uses more diverse forms of assessment, over a less intense time period, which is more in line with international best practice.
“The reforms to Senior Cycle includes the development of new and revised subject curricula, with additional assessment methods outside of the dreaded final written exams," she added.
Education Minister Norma Foley says it's time the Leaving Cert changed:
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