French

French is the Leaving certificate's most commonly undertaken foreign language, assuming Irish can be excluded. It is optional, although the LCVP requires a recognized modern European language to be taken.

French is available at higher-level and ordinary-level and is examined through 3 tests; an oral exam in April and a written paper followed by an aural exam in June.

Only a relatively small number of higher education courses require French, almost all of which are related to the language, but there is a large number of courses which require a language other than English or Irish  which French will account for.