In Ireland, post-primary education or secondary school consists of a three year Junior Cycle, followed by a two or three year Senior Cycle, depending on whether the optional Transition Year is taken. Children from about 12 to 18 years old attend a secondary school. The minimum school leaving age in Ireland is 16 or after three years of post-primary education, whichever is later.
This section looks at the number of pupils enrolled in Junior Cycle, Transition Year and Senior Cycle programs in secondary schools throughout Ireland as well as the number of different ethos schools in Ireland and Leaving Certificate subject uptake.
Here, data is also presented on early school leavers among children in care and all children. An early school leaver is a pupil within an entry cohort that did not sit their Leaving Certificate within five or six years based on State Examinations Commission data, and no longer appears in the post-primary school enrolment dataset.
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