The Leaving Cert continues where the Junior Cert leaves off. The most common Leaving Cert Programme is the Leaving Cert Established (LCE) and it runs for two years. Subjects are normally studied at either Ordinary or Higher Level. Two subjects, Irish and Mathematics, can be studied at Foundation Level. Foundation Level is geared to the needs of students who might have difficulty with those subjects at Ordinary or Higher Level. The three core subjects of English, Maths and Irish are generally compulsary for LCE. Presentation College Athenry offers a number of optional subjects to choose from. Students usually take between six to eight subjects, with 7 being the norm.
Students at Presentation College study English, Irish and Mathematics and choose 4 subjects from the following: