St. Aloysius’ College
1st Year
Accessing Opportunities
At St. Aloysius’ College, we are very proud to be an inclusive school that uses a range of strategies to ensure that every student is able to access the diverse opportunities available. For those students who demonstrate specific subject strength or potential in particular areas of the curriculum, we make sure there are appropriate targets and motivation to challenge them to reach their full potential.
Teachers at St. Aloysius’ College are innovative and interested in getting the best from every student. The college is fortunate to have teachers who are highly qualified in their subject areas with a passion for teaching and learning. Teachers work extremely hard to ensure all students reach their potential by setting high expectations and nurturing a love of learning. Our teachers engage in an ongoing lifelong education themselves upskilling and retraining in myriad different subject specific and pedagogical areas in order to provide high quality teaching, learning, assessment and reporting both within and outside of the classroom. Mutual respect exists in all classrooms which supports the teaching and learning process.
Students in 1st Year study all subjects for the full academic year before selecting which to follow under the new Junior Cycle curriculum in second and third year. This allows all students to get a real sense of an option subject for the full academic year before selecting their preferred option subjects. Based upon feedback from parents and students, our students select two of the available Modern Foreign Languages of Spanish, German and French instead of studying all three in first year.
Under the specifications of the Junior Cycle, all students must study 9 subjects and two short courses for examination. To find out more about the Junior Cycle and the specification of each subject, please use the link below.
The following non exam subjects are in place to support students’ social, personal and emotional development:
Religious Education - non exam
Physical Education - Short Course and non exam
Civic Social and Political Education (CSPE) - Short Course and non exam (we follow the 2021 new curriculum)
Social Personal and Health Education (SPHE) - Short Course and non exam (we follow the 2023 new curriculum)
Two Option Subjects from;
Second Modern Foreign Language
At the end of first year students must choose to study at least one foreign language (Spanish, French or German) along with two other optional subjects. Students have the option of selecting two foreign languages if they wish.