The Oatlands College ‘Leaving Certificate Vocational Programme’ (L.C.V.P.) is designed to develop a work-related dimension to the traditional Leaving Certificate. The course combines the academic strengths of the conventional Leaving Certificate with a new active focus on self-directed learning, innovation and enterprise. It is a two-year programme with the primary goal of preparing students for adult life by ensuring they are educated in the broadest sense, with the ability to cope and succeed in an atmosphere of rapid change. The students are encouraged to develop skills and competencies fundamental to both academic and employment success.

(The following aims are interrelated and interdependent)

During the programme, students are encouraged to:

·        Be innovative and enterprising

·        Take responsibility for their own learning

·        Adapt to changing circumstances

·        Evaluate data and devise solutions to problems

·        Communicate their thoughts and ideas effectively

·        Work with others as part of a team

·        Investigate and plan career options

·        Use information and communications technologies

·        Investigate local businesses and community enterprises

·        Learn from their experiences

These skills and qualities are equally relevant to the needs of those preparing for further education, seeking employment or planning to start their own business.

·        At least five Leaving Certificate subjects, one of which must be Irish

·        Two subjects must be selected a designated L.C.V.P. Subject Grouping – Oatlands provides a number of options from these groupings

     (listed below).

·        Link Modules – Preparation for the World of Work & Enterprise Education

·        A recognised course in a Modern European Language other than Irish or English

Subject Grouping Options at Oatlands (subject to revision):

Link Modules:

The Link Modules are activity-based units of study which are designed to help students make connections between school and community, study and future career, enterprise and the business of making a living.

1) Preparation for the World:

Students will research and investigate local employment opportunities and develop job-seeking skills such as letter writing, C.V. presentation and interview techniques. They will also gain valuable practical experience of the world at work and interview and work shadow a person in a career area that interests them.

     2) Enterprise Education:

Students will organise study visits to local business and community enterprises. They will meet and interview enterprising people on-site and in the classroom. They will plan and undertake interesting activities that will build self-confidence, communication and computer skills and develop their teamwork skills. These activities will also encourage creativity and initiative.

Assessment and Evaluation

L.C.V.P. students follow the same syllabi and are assessed in the same way as their peers in Leaving Certificate subjects. For the link modules, they are assessed by written examination (40%) and by portfolio of coursework (60%).

The structure of the written examination is as follows:

·        Section A: Audio Visual Presentation

·        Section B: Case Study (received four weeks in advance of the exam)

·        Section C: General Questions

The portfolio of coursework contains core items and optional items. Students assemble the portfolio over the two years of the programme and it is assessed at the end of the final year of the Leaving Certificate. Portfolio items are shown in the following table:

L.C.V.P. students receive the same certificate as other Leaving Certificate students, but their Certificate includes an additional statement of the results of the Link Modules. The Link Modules are recognised in points terms by the Institutes of Technology and the Universities. The Grading System is outlined in the table below, as are the points generally allocated by Institutions: