A Brand New Leaving Cert Subject Will Be Introduced In September

Minister for Education and Skills, Richard Bruton, has announced that Computer Science will be a Leaving Cert subject from September 2018 onwards.

A total of 40 schools across the country will be participating in the enrolment of Computer Science as a subject on their curriculum.

The first Leaving Cert examination of the subject will be sat in 2020.

The new subject will see students learn a variety of skills including creative design, programming languages, computational thinking and how to analyse problems in computational terms.

Students will be assessed through both a project and a computer-based exam.

Mr Bruton said: "There is a digital revolution taking place which is having a transformative effect on our economy, workplace, and lifestyle."

"In order to be the best in Europe, our education system must respond to these changes."

He added: "The introduction of this new subject will teach our young people flexible, solution orientated thinking."

The 40 participating schools are listed below.

Computerscienceschools — Image: Newstalk