Students should no longer need to prove Pythagoras in junior cycle maths

Junior Certificate students will no longer be asked in exams to prove Pythagoras’ or anybody else’s theorems under a revised junior cycle maths course.

However, although many teachers consulted on the curriculum for students’ first three years of second-level found time constraints to be a problem delivering the course, this is one of very few elements being dropped.

Instead, the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) is merging some connected strands like algebra and functions to help schools make best use of the 240-plus hours of maths classes they must provide during junior cycle.