Biology

Introduction

This new Leaving Certificate Biology specification will be introduced for fifth year students in September 2025 and will replace the current Leaving Certificate Biology syllabus. There are four strands: a unifying strand, Nature of Science, and three contextual strands;

1. Nature of Science - Students develop an understanding that whilst science is powerful, generating knowledge that forms the basis for many advances and innovations in society, it has limitations and that the application of scientific knowledge to problem-solving can be influenced by considerations such as economic, social, sustainability and ethical factors.

2. Organisation of Life - Students gain knowledge and understanding of a number of core concepts to explain the organisation and diversity of life.

3. Structures and Processes of Life - Students learn how the unique and diverse structures within living things allow life to function through a number of processes taking place within cells, organs and systems.

4. Interactions of Life - Students look at the systems of the living world at different scales. As they investigate interactions of individuals and groups in ecosystems, they learn that no organism in nature is independent of the systems in which it lives, functions and dies.

Assessment

Useful Links

 https://www.curriculumonline.ie/Senior-cycle/Senior-Cycle-Subjects/Biology/