Thousands of students are gearing up for their return to school in the coming weeks, with many preparing for the Leaving Certificate agricultural science assessment.

A spokesperson of the Department of Education and Youth said that in the most recent school year, 2024/2025, there was a total of 23,569 senior cycle students studying agricultural science across transition, fifth, and sixth year in schools.

This data is based on information provided by post-primary schools in their 2024 October Returns, the spokesperson said.

The data shows there were 3,464 students doing agricultural science in Leaving Cert year one, or fifth year in schools around the country.

As part of the Leaving Certificate Vocational Programme (LCVP), there were 4,450 students doing agricultural science in fifth year.

These students are expected to enter their final Leaving Cert year, sixth year, in the coming academic year.

The Leaving Cert 2025 written exams took place from June 4 to June 24.

Results are to be released this coming Friday, August 22.

Over 7,100 students sat the Leaving Cert agricultural paper in June 2025, according to the State Examinations Commission (SEC).

The exam was taken by 423 students at ordinary level and 6,746 students at higher level.

Of the 7,169 students taking the paper, 3,100 were female students and 4,069 were male.

There was an increase of 7.7% in the number of students who sat the exam in 2024.

A new specification for agricultural science was introduced in September 2019 and was examined for the first time in 2021, the SEC outlined.

The examination comprises two components: a written paper and a coursework component.

The coursework component consists of a report on an 'individual investigative study' and is worth 100 marks, which is 25% of the overall marks for the subject.

The remaining 300 marks (75%) are for the final written examination.

The brief is thematic, related to a topic of agricultural significance, and common to ordinary level and higher level.

All candidates are required to carry out an investigative study in response to the brief, and to do so in the context of a specific agricultural enterprise, the SEC said.

The theme for the 2026 brief is 'explore how an environmentally sustainable food production system could support Ireland’s future agricultural competitiveness'.

Students are told to "use the theme as a lens to look through while undertaking the learning contained in the specification’s strands and crosscutting themes".