Work out the right combination of subjects for your Leaving Certificate and you could be opening the door to a bright future. But get it wrong and you might end up disappointed. So how do you choose the right courses? Brian Mooney reports.

Choosing the right subjects is vital if your are about to start the Leaving Certificate programme. It determines your options once you complete your courses. If you are selecting your subjects you should first have completed a set of aptitude tests and possibly an "interest inventory", linked to the subjects available in your school. I use a combination of both when helping students to make these crucial choices. In my experience, people who take the time to evaluate the results, as well as taking into account how they performed in the Junior Certificate, tend to choose their subjects correctly.

Let me first deal with the issue of what level you should take the core subjects of Irish, English and maths at. It is very rare for a student who has not attained at least a grade C at higher level in the Junior Certificate to take that subject at higher level in the Leaving Certificate. This is particularly true for higher-level Irish and maths. I have known students to move from an A or B grade in pass English in the Junior Certificate to a good higher-level grade in the Leaving Certificate.

Having said that, students who use transition year effectively, to rectify deficiencies in their performance in the Junior Certificate, could consider attempting core subjects at higher level initially in fifth year. If they find the going too hard, they can always drop back to ordinary level once they receive their in-house Christmas exam results for fifth year.

As for optional subjects, I would suggest the following:

Remember that all third-level colleges and courses have minimum subject-entry requirements. If you do not meet them it does not matter how many points you receive in the Leaving Certificate: you will not get a place on the course. A full list of the requirements appeared in this newspaper on January 6th.

It may seem very early to be raising the question of a career, but some are accessible only through particular courses, which are open only to students who have successfully taken particular subjects in their Leaving Certificates.

Unless you are certain that you want to pursue a career in a particular field and wish to concentrate on associated subjects, I would strongly advise taking a range of subjects from different areas of study.

The most important factor is whether you enjoy the subjects you have chosen. You are always going to work harder at subjects that you enjoy most.

Bear in mind that not all subjects are available in all schools - and that timetable clashes may make some combinations impossible. So select at least six subjects, listing them in order of priority, in order to get places on four courses.

If a particular subject is essential for your chosen career, say so on the form.

And there are some points to remember when you consider your Leaving Certificate subjects as a whole:

How many subjects should I take?

Aim for seven. Your points will be calculated on the best six. If you are taking more than one ordinary-level paper, such as maths and Irish, and want the option of having six honours subjects for points purposes, it might be worth considering an extra subject.

This advice comes with a health warning. There is no such thing as an easy honour, and every subject requires a certain amount of daily study. Taking eight Leaving Certificate subjects is a major undertaking. If you are taking the eighth outside school, take into account the time spent travelling to and from the grind. All this detracts from the time you have to work on your seven subjects at school.

If you are taking certain combinations of subjects you are eligible for the Leaving Certificate vocational programme. Sixty per cent of the marks are awarded for a portfolio of coursework. If you earn a distinction you can gain 70 points from this module from all CAO colleges.

Should bright students take extra subjects outside school if their colleges cannot offer them?

If timetable restrictions make it impossible for them to take subjects they particularly enjoy, they could consider taking it outside school, provided they factor in an appropriate amount of study time to cover all the subjects being taken.

What happens if I don't take honours Irish?

Apart from ruling yourself out of degrees with Irish as a core subject, the main consequence is not being able to study to be a primary-school teacher in any of the Irish training colleges.

What happens if I don't take honours maths?

You will be barred from many degrees. These include many engineering, computing, science, information and computer technology courses, as well as most degrees that include maths as a core subject. If you are interested in a career associated with such courses, you can always start with certificate programmes, which may require only ordinary-level maths, then progress through to a diploma and, finally, a degree programme.

What happens if I do not take a language other than Irish and English?

The National University of Ireland demands a pass in a third language for entry to almost every course at its colleges - University College Dublin, University College Galway, University College Cork and NUI Maynooth. The exception is at NUI Maynooth, which has dropped the requirement for its engineering programmes. You also need a third language to become an Army or Air Corps cadet. Trinity College in Dublin accepts Irish as fulfilling its second-language requirement.

The University of Limerick, Dublin City University and the institutes of technology require a continental language only if the course involves its study.

What are the hardest and easiest subjects in the Leaving Certificate?

There is no such thing as easy honours in the Leaving Certificate. Some subjects may appear to have very high success rates, such as music, in which 98 per cent of candidates receive a grade C or above, and art, in which the figure is 87 per cent (see panel, above right). Very few people sit these papers, however, and they tend to have been passionate about the subjects since childhood. Other subjects, such as higher-level Irish and continental languages, are taken by students who did particularly well in them at Junior Certificate level. Subjects taken by large groups of students, such as English, history, geography, biology and business, tend to have honours rates of 70-80 per cent. Subjects that attract many average students, such as social and scientific, have an honours rate a little lower, perhaps of 65 per cent. Last year only 66 per cent of students studying physics secured an honours grade. All Leaving Certificate subjects require a two-year commitment. There are no short cuts.

What combinations should I avoid?

Be aware that some subjects, such as history, require a lot of reading. Others involve strong mathematical skills, among them physics and, to a certain extent, economics. Still more, such as business, require you to be very aware of current events. If you are considering taking languages, be aware of the growing importance of aural and oral aspects of the examinations. Some subjects, such as the technical courses and social and scientific, are more practical, making them attractive to many students. Ultimately, your aptitudes should determine your combination of subjects.

Career choices

This newspaper published the minimum subject-entry requirements for all degree, diploma and certificate courses on January 6th. When you are deciding what to take for the Leaving Certificate, remember that your decision will have long-term consequences for the careers that are open to you. Not taking a science subject or a foreign language, for example, will have major implications later on.

The same does not apply to business subjects, as most business courses assume that you have come to the subjects as novices. If you have to choose your subjects but have not yet decided on a career, keep all your options open by taking a science subject and a foreign language from among your four optional subjects.

And last but not least . . .

A pass in ordinary-level maths is essential for almost all post-Leaving Certificate courses. Up to 5,000 students fall below this each year, to foundation-level maths, and a further 5,000 fail ordinary level. Whatever you do over the next two years, don't neglect your work in this subject.