Past Pupil Profiles

What subjects did you do for the Leaving Certificate?

English, Irish, Maths, French, Biology, Chemistry, Geography.

What are you doing now? What do you plan to do in the future?

I’m now working as a Human Rights Policy Advisor at the Permanent Mission of Ireland to the UN in New York. Before that I was working as a Legal Officer at the European Commission in Brussels for two years.

If you went to college, what course did you do?

I did Law and French in Trinity and a Masters in Human Rights Law at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE).

Would you have any advice for the current 6th year students?

In terms of advice for 6th years, I’d just say to keep an open mind about what you want to do after school. Read up on as many courses as you can, go to open days, reach out to people who did/are currently doing the course you’re interested in and keep your options open! I was dead set on doing Science in college the whole way through 6th Year and changed to Law at the last minute and I’m delighted I did in the end! Also enjoy the year with your friends as you’ll probably end up all over the country/world after school finishes.

What subjects did you do for the Leaving Certificate?

I did History, Art, English, Maths (ol), French, Business and Irish.

What are you doing now? What do you plan to do in the future?

Currently I am working as a temp. After graduation, I decided to sit the FE-1 examinations to become a solicitor.

If you went to college, what course did you do?

I went to college, and studied law and business in Trinity.

Would you have any advice for the current 6th year students?

Advice for 6th year self: firstly, don’t doubt yourself or underplay your abilities. It’s really easier in 6th year to overthink results and to get in your head about tests, but you need to picture everything in the long term. Once you are tipping away and keeping the head down consistently you’re doing the best and the most you can do !

Secondly, be open to everything. I always deep down wanted to study law and business but never had it on my cao until the day the cao closed because I just didn’t think it was possible. But beyond cao, be open to everything in general - be open to going to college anywhere, be open to really going for something you want

Also don’t neglect your friends and your sports. They really are the only ways to keep your head !!

Mostly, just take every day as it comes and enjoy your last year in school. College flies and before you know it everyone is living all around the country/ abroad. Enjoy the time you all still have together!

I’m living in nyc now so I'm able to talk to anyone about moving etc !

What subjects did you do for the Leaving Certificate?

Maths, English, Irish, History, Music, Accounting, Spanish.

What are you doing now? What do you plan to do in the future?

Graduate Trainee Accountant - worked in hospitality/sales for 3.5 years then applied for the role which pays for me to become a qualified accountant.

If you went to college, what course did you do?

International Business with Spanish in DIT, now TUD.

Would you have any advice for the current 6th year students?

Don’t panic about not knowing what you want to do after college. I was fairly certain I wanted to be an accountant but was only 16 going into 6th year so kept my options open with a general business degree and now I’m in the position to do what I wanted to do after leaving school.

What subjects did you do for the Leaving Certificate?

English, Irish, Maths, French, Biology, Chemistry and Accounting.

What are you doing now? What do you plan to do in the future?

⁠Working as a Clinical Research Associate

If you went to college, what course did you do?

⁠I did an undergrad in Biomedical, Health and Life Science and a masters in Molecular Medicine

Would you have any advice for the current 6th year students?

There are so many other ways to get to what you want to do other than the CAO

What subjects did you do for the Leaving Certificate?

English, Irish, Maths, Spanish, Business, Biology and Home Economics.

What are you doing now? What do you plan to do in the future?

Admin in the HSE.

If you went to college, what course did you do?

Undergrad in Arts sociology and geography and masters in Human Resources Management.

Would you have any advice for the current 6th year students?

Don’t get so hung up on the leaving cert, enjoy the last year in school and take every opportunity to have fun with your friends.

What subjects did you do for the Leaving Certificate?

English, Irish, Maths, Biology, Spanish, Chemistry and Home Economics.

What are you doing now? What do you plan to do in the future?

I’m a nurse 👩‍⚕️

If you went to college, what course did you do?

⁠I did a pre nursing course in Dublin before doing my nurse training in Dundee Scotland.

If you did not go to college what other route did you take (apprenticeship/work/plc/etc)?

⁠I did a PLC first as I didn’t get the points to go straight to collage and decided to head to Scotland to train after the PLC.

Would you have any advice for the current 6th year students?

Don’t stress about points and CAO. There are ways around everything! Just enjoy your last years in school.

What subjects did you do for the Leaving Certificate?

Chemistry, Biology, Music, Spanish, English, Irish and Maths.

What are you doing now? What do you plan to do in the future?

I’m just finishing my Masters degree and in September I will be starting a graduate program at a pharmaceutical company where I did a year-long internship last year.

If you went to college, what course did you do?

I did Chemical & Bioprocess Engineering at UCD.

Would you have any advice for the current 6th year students?

There are multiple pathways to every career, pick the course or other route that suits your strengths and interests!

What subjects did you do for the Leaving Certificate?

I did French, Physics, History, Accounting, English, Irish and Maths.

What are you doing now? What do you plan to do in the future?

I am now working as a graduate data analyst in Accenture. I went into my job expecting more of a software development role, but as I had knowledge of database systems they needed me in a data role, I would love to do more development in the future but I am happy where I am :) (these words sound big and scary but they’re not).

If you went to college, what course did you do?

I did computer science with data science in UCD.

Would you have any advice for the current 6th year students?

To look outside traditional career paths, and do not be scared of maths I still can’t do basic adding in my head but that’s what calculators are for! I also knew nothing about coding or data before I started my

What subjects did you do for the Leaving Certificate?

Aside from the core subjects I did Spanish, geography, business and history.

What are you doing now? What do you plan to do in the future?

I’m currently a digital marketing executive in the FMCG industry, but I’ll be moving to Australia next month to travel for a little bit!

If you went to college, what course did you do?

I went to DCU where I completed my BA in Communication Studies. Shortly after I completed my MSc in Digital Marketing!

Would you have any advice for the current 6th year students?

My advice to current 6th years would be to be kind to yourself. 6th year is an incredibly taxing year mentally, all you can do is your best!

What subjects did you do for the Leaving Certificate?

I did Home Ec, Geography, Business and French for the Leaving Cert.

What are you doing now? What do you plan to do in the future?

I’m now just taking some time off after graduating college. I felt after all the hard work over the last few years that I owed it to myself to take a step back to figure out my path and to see the world. I also work in a place that allows me to both work and keep a routine but enjoy my time off to do new things.

If you went to college, what course did you do?

I went to Technological University Dublin and I did a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Journalism. It was a four year course and I graduated in October 2023. At times it was difficult, especially due to Covid, but I’ve met some amazing people along the way and I feel confident in the body of work that I’ve left with and I’m thankful for that.

Would you have any advice for the current 6th year students?

My advice would be to just breathe. You will cross the bridge of the leaving cert and there will be light at the end of the tunnel. At this time in your life it feels like the be all and end all, but you will look back at your younger self and want to tell her that it all works out okay in the end. Everyone goes at their own pace for their own path, that’s what makes life interesting.

What subjects did you do for the Leaving Certificate?

Biology, Chemistry, Music, (& core subjects in shs)

What are you doing now? What do you plan to do in the future?

I took a year out after my LC and went into physiotherapy then.

If you went to college, what course did you do?

Physiotherapy in ulster university (Derry city) needed two sciences.

Would you have any advice for the current 6th year students?

I would just tell the current 6th years to take every day and every exam as they come, just make sure you know when it comes to the exams you have done everything you could after that it’s out of your control. Also don’t worry about what the future will hold… It's a scary unsure time but everything will fall into place. Trust the timing of your life.

What subjects did you do for the Leaving Certificate?

English, Irish, Maths, French, Geography, Home Ec and Business for the Leaving Cert.

What are you doing now? What do you plan to do in the future?

I'm doing a master's in primary teaching and working in a school at the minute.

If you went to college, what course did you do?

I did my level 8 in early childhood education in DCU,I then did a level 6 in special needs education with chevron college and I’m now studying my masters in primary teaching with Hibernia.

Would you have any advice for the current 6th year students?

Advice for 6th years just to stick with it, it’ll be over in no time!

What subjects did you do for the Leaving Certificate?

I did English, Irish, Maths, Spanish, Accounting, Geography & Biology.

What are you doing now? What do you plan to do in the future?

I’m working in a crèche as a room leader in a toddler room & have just started my masters in primary school teaching.

If you went to college, what course did you do?

I did early childhood education in St. Pats in DCU (level 8).

Would you have any advice for the current 6th year students?

My advice would be that you don’t have to have your whole life figured out in 6th year. Follow your heart & do a course that you will be willing to put the work in and will also be willing to get up & get the bus very early in the morning especially on winter mornings.

What subjects did you do for the Leaving Certificate?

I did English Irish Maths French Chemistry Biology and Accounting for LC. Chemistry and Biology were probably my favourite and they were really useful for college.

What are you doing now? What do you plan to do in the future?

I have just finished college after 6 years and am waiting to start my intern post as a doctor in July.

If you went to college, what course did you do?

I studied Medicine in University of Galway, highly recommend Galway it is the best place to go to college, it is so much fun. In terms of the course it was tough, there was a lot of work but I really loved it, you met so many amazing people and get crazy opportunities.

Would you have any advice for the current 6th year students?

In terms of advice, I would say enjoy 6th year, it was the best year of school by far. I remember when I was in 6th year I couldn’t see past the Leaving Cert, (it was like life did not seem to exist after the leaving cert) but having gone through it, it really isn’t as bad as it seems and life after the Leaving Cert is so much better.

What subjects did you do for the Leaving Certificate?

I did French, Physics, Geography and Business as well as the usual.

What are you doing now? What do you plan to do in the future?

I didn’t have a clue what I wanted to do at the time but I am now a Geographic Information Systems Technician at an Environment Consultancy.

If you went to college, what course did you do?

I did Arts in Maynooth and would 100% recommend it to anyone who isn’t sure what they want to do because there is so much choice when you get there. You can try as many classes as you want for the first few weeks which really helped me. I took Geography, Business and Sociology in 1st year. In second and third I specialised in a Double Major of Geography and Business Management with the intention of doing a Masters in Education later on.

Instead I found a whole new industry that I had never heard of before in GIS and Remote Sensing through my Geography modules and did a MSc in this, also in Maynooth.

Would you have any advice for the current 6th year students?

My main advice is that it’s okay to not know what you want to do. You might find whole subjects and industries you've never even heard of before and find your passion there. Cut yourself some slack, you have your whole life ahead of you, you don’t need to have everything figured out right now.

GIS is basically digital cartography and dealing with geographic data, kinda like google maps or any interactive map you might see on a webpage. It involves a lot of database building and data management but you don’t need to know how to code or even be terribly good at computers to do it 😁

What subjects did you do for the Leaving Certificate?

I did Home Ec, French, English, Irish, Maths & Geography.

What are you doing now? What do you plan to do in the future?

I’ve my own business which I work in full time baking (Jmakescakes) started in Covid as something to do while I was off work but now I quit my full time management job and I’m baking full time!

If you went to college, what course did you do?

Didn’t go to college (done baking courses and start your own business course online during Covid).

Would you have any advice for the current 6th year students?

My advice would be don’t put pressure on yourself to know what you want to be, if you told me in 6th year that I’d be a full time baker I would have laughed but now look🙌🏼🙌🏼 give yourself time to see what you love doing.

What subjects did you do for the Leaving Certificate?

For my leaving cert I did Home Economics Spanish and Geography as well as the core subjects.

What are you doing now? What do you plan to do in the future?/ If you went to college, what course did you do?

When I left school I originally started studying General Nursing in DCU. During my 1st year Covid hit and we were thrown in the deep end as student nurses. I made the decision to leave this course and I applied to start primary school teaching in Marino in September 2020. I am now two weeks away from qualifying as a primary school teacher!

Would you have any advice for the current 6th year students?

My current advice for 6th years would be to not worry about what path they take. When you leave secondary school you are still so young, it’s ok if you do not know what you want to do. I would always say follow your gut, if something doesn’t feel right change it! Most importantly enjoy every step of your new journey you will take because time flies.

What subjects did you do for the Leaving Certificate?

English, Irish, Maths, Spanish, Accounting, History and Biology.

What are you doing now? What do you plan to do in the future?

I currently work in KPMG under their Graduate Programme and I am also studying towards my Chartered Accountancy exams to become a professional accountant.

If you went to college, what course did you do?

I went to the University of Essex for university and I studied Accounting and Finance

Would you have any advice for the current 6th year students?

Advice for 6th Years: my number one tip is to keep calm, look after yourself physically, mentally and emotionally and try to put things into perspective. I remember being in 6th year and feeling like the Leaving Cert was the be all and end all. It isn’t! While it is quite significant, it is just one stopping point in your life and it won’t determine how successful you will be. By this time next year, the Leaving Cert will probably be a distant memory.

What subjects did you do for the Leaving Certificate?

Biology, Chemistry, Business studies, English, Irish, Maths, and French.

What are you doing now? What do you plan to do in the future?

I’m working as a data engineer at an asset management firm in London. I got there through my degrees and I had done a few internships that had helped me know what I like in places like Accenture and the NHS Digital. I figured out the aspects of my course I enjoyed and looked for a job in those areas.

If you went to college, what course did you do?

Computer science with data science undergrad in UCD.

MsC of health data analytics and machine learning at imperial college London.

Would you have any advice for the current 6th year students?

I think I would say, definitely give the leaving cert your all so you can look back and know you tried your best but it isn’t the be all and end all. Even if you end up with a course you’re not sure about, there's always room to pivot. I was really focused on studying medicine but I didn’t get the points and I thought after my undergraduate I’d go on to do grad medicine but once I got to the end I realised medicine actually wasn’t for me. In that process I realised that I could combine so many of my interests with data science. Sometimes the path you think is right isn’t what you get but you can end up loving something else so much more than expected. Please remember you’re still young and you’re allowed to change your mind and there’s so much room for growth and change! Good luck girls, you’ve got this.

What subjects did you do for the Leaving Certificate?

I did Geography, Biology, and Home Economics in the Leaving Cert.

What are you doing now? What do you plan to do in the future?If you went to college, what course did you do?

I am currently studying general nursing in Ulster University Derry. I did a pre nursing course in DIFE in 2021 and applied through UCAS. I took a year out to work and travel and accepted my course in 2023.

Would you have any advice for the current 6th year students?

I would just say don’t panic, there's always other routes to achieve your goal. Xx