Fewer to sit higher-level maths, Irish

THE numbers taking higher-level Leaving Certificate maths and Irish over the next week look set to fall again this year despite major reforms planned for both subjects.

As the Junior and Leaving Certificate exams begin at more than 700 schools tomorrow, official entry figures show a further decline in the numbers taking the hardest maths paper.

Fewer than 16% of 2010 maths candidates opted for the higher-level paper a year ago, when the proportion predicted by the State Examinations Commission (SEC) in advance was 19.63%. The number predicted this year to take higher-level maths is slightly lower, at 19.57% — or just 10,008 of the 51,125 entered to sit the subject.