Biology grows in Leaving Cert popularity but economics fails to prosper

Biology continues to grow in popularity but the dominance of financial issues in the news has failed to nurture interest in economics among Leaving Certificate students.

Although girls perform better in biology, boys make up most of the increased uptake of the subject in the last five years as shown in the latest chief examiner’s report on the subject.

It highlights the jump from 52% to 60% from 2009 to 2013 in the proportion of students who took biology papers. However, among almost 31,500 who did so last year, nearly 41% were boys — up from 36% in 2009.