Teaching and science courses favour Leaving Cert students

LEAVING Certificate students have a better chance of securing teaching, engineering and science courses than mature students and other applicants, official figures suggest.

The analysis of data from the Central Applications Office, which filled more than 42,000 college places last year, shows that more than four-in-five vacancies in these categories of college programme — accounting for almost one-in-five of all places filled last year between them — were taken by students who sat the Leaving Certificate just months earlier.

Figures revealed by the Irish Examiner in November showed just under 70% of places on all courses in 2008 went to Leaving Certificate students. Mature students, people with previous third-level experience and those with further education qualifications each made up more than 10% of all successful applicants.