Study maths in Ireland - 11 institutions

Advanced private schools in Ireland have a centuries-old history, improvement of teaching methods, modern infrastructure equipment. The campuses are modern student campuses, on the territory of which there are academic buildings, canteens, libraries, sports grounds, dormitories, accommodation in which is subject to constant and careful monitoring by teachers and educators. Prestigious private schools in Ireland differ in the format of education —mixed or separate (only for boys or girls).

The Ministry of Education in Ireland is responsible for the development and approval of educational standards. Foreign students are offered a choice of 30 subjects as compulsory:

• Foreign languages (English, French, German, Spanish)
• Mathematics
• Economy
• Geography
• History
• Biology
• Chemistry
• Physics
• Music
• Drawing.

There are three main parts of the Irish secondary education system:

• Primary school
• Junior cycle of secondary school
• Senior cycle of secondary school.

At the first stage of education, children of 6 years old are admitted (they study here until they are 12 years old). It is mandatory for students to study mathematics, English, and Irish. Additionally, it is stipulated to attend music, art classes, sports classes.

The duration of the second educational stage, junior high school, is three years. The target audience for studying is foreign students aged 13 to 16 years. At this educational stage, the list of academic subjects to study increases to 10. After this stage, a foreign student is given the opportunity to study for the Transition Year: a year during which the student independently selects a list of disciplines to study according to individual goals and preferences, interests. In the elite private schools in Ireland, education within the framework of the transition year is mandatory — in other Irish educational institutions it is optional.

The Irish must attend junior and high school. After two educational stages have been completed, the Junior Certificate exam is passed, and on the basis of the results obtained, enrolment in the Irish senior Secondary school is conducted.

As for the senior secondary school, the duration of study is 2 years. The goal of the educational course is to effectively prepare for admission to top universities. According to this studying program, teaching from 6 to 8 disciplines is provided, English and mathematics are mandatory for study. As for the other subjects, they are independently selected taking into account individual goals, preferences and future specialization. Upon completion of studying, an exam is provided: in case of good academic performance, graduates are issued a Leaving Certificate (LCE), which is an analogue of the British A-level program. The certificate is universally quoted by all English-speaking countries: a graduate has an excellent opportunity to enrol in ranked universities not only in Ireland, but also in the USA, Australia, and the UK.

GCSE (General Certificate of Secondary Education) is a secondary school program for children aged from 14 to 16. Duration of studying is 2 years (10th and 11th grade). At the end of the second year, children take an exam in each subject. The choice of a school for further study in high school depends on the results of final exams.

The curriculum consists of compulsory subjects and elective subjects. Their list may vary from school to school in Ireland. The basic courses include: English, Literature, Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry, physics, history, geography and one foreign language. In addition to them, the student chooses 3-4 subjects. This can be, for example, astronomy, art, programming, business disciplines, statistics or psychology.

GCSE Maths is the main subject in all schools in Ireland. Mathematics is a fundamental science, the study of mathematics allows the students to develop mental abilities, analytical, critical, abstract thinking, the ability to predict and generalize, trains memory and develops quick thinking.

A-level is a British exam of Sixth Form stage. The program is designed for students aged 16-18, who want to continue studying at the university. This stage is not considered mandatory, general secondary education is a GCSE diploma in Ireland (14-16 years old). A-level is already a full secondary education. Usually the course is designed for 2 years, sometimes they give you the opportunity to complete a year (accelerated course), but you need to try very hard and prove that you will pull the intensity.

A-level Math is designed for 90 minutes and is divided into 4 sections:

• Core mathematics includes: equations, simplifications, logarithms, derivatives, etc.;
• Futher pure mathematics is already "pure" mathematics, closer to the highest: complex numbers, series, matrices and other in—depth concepts;
• Statistics is probability theory and mathematical statistics;
• Decision mathematics — "mathematics of decision making", a symbiosis of discrete mathematics and solving problems on graphs.

To enroll and study maths in private schools in Ireland, the foreign students need to prepare the following package of documents:

• A copy of your passport
• Report cards with school grades for the last two years of study, the share of excellent grades should be at least 40%