Physics

A new Leaving Certificate Physics specification will be introduced for fifth year students in September 2025 and will replace the current Leaving Certificate Physics syllabus.  

The aim of Leaving Certificate Physics is to provide students with an experience that develops their interest in and enthusiasm for physics. In doing so, it aims to build the knowledge, skills, values and dispositions necessary for students to become scientifically literate citizens who are well-prepared for the challenges and opportunities of their future, embracing life-long learning and sustainable living, as citizens in a technologically developing society. More specifically Leaving Certificate Physics, aims to empower students to, build knowledge and understanding of specified core concepts and fundamental principles of physics, develop the skills, values and dispositions needed to apply this knowledge to explain, analyse, solve problems and predict events in a variety of systems and interactions in the physical world, demonstrate inquiry and practical skills consistent with the principles and practices of physics, understand how society and science are interwoven, the everyday relevance and the ethical implications of physics.