# The ExamAI Blog

> Guides, key dates and study advice for the Leaving Cert.

Canonical: https://examai.ie/blog

- [How to Study for the Leaving Cert in One Month](https://examai.ie/blog/leaving-cert-study-plan-1-month) (2026-09-11): About four weeks to the June written papers. Why the unit of work is a marked past paper, what a month cannot do, and why your mock is not a ceiling.
- [How to Study for the Leaving Cert in 3 Months](https://examai.ie/blog/leaving-cert-study-plan-3-months) (2026-09-09): A triage plan for the last three months before the Leaving Cert: what the CAO points grid says to work on first, and how to use past papers.
- [How to Manage Your Time in Leaving Cert Exams](https://examai.ie/blog/leaving-cert-exam-time-management) (2026-09-07): How long per question in Leaving Cert maths and English, worked from the 2026 exam durations and the real mark allocations on the 2025 papers.
- [How to Get a H1 in Leaving Cert English](https://examai.ie/blog/how-to-get-a-h1-in-leaving-cert-english) (2026-09-04): A H1 in Leaving Cert English is 360 of 400 marks. What Paper 1 and Paper 2 ask, how the PCLM criteria mark every task, and which cohort sits which exam.
- [Most Common Topics on Leaving Cert Chemistry](https://examai.ie/blog/leaving-cert-chemistry-common-topics) (2026-09-02): Organic chemistry leads the 22 Leaving Cert Chemistry papers from 2015 to 2025. Strand counts, marks, Section A splits, and the 2027 specification.
- [How to Get a H1 in Leaving Cert Chemistry](https://examai.ie/blog/how-to-get-a-h1-in-leaving-cert-chemistry) (2026-08-31): A H1 in Leaving Cert Chemistry is 90%. On the new specification that is 450 of 500 marks, split between a 300-mark exam and a 200-mark investigation.
- [How to Get a H1 in Leaving Cert Higher Maths](https://examai.ie/blog/how-to-get-a-h1-in-leaving-cert-higher-maths) (2026-08-28): A H1 in Higher Maths is 90%, or 540 of 600 marks. The real paper structure, the marking scheme's partial credit, and the 25 bonus points.
- [Most Common Topics on Leaving Cert Biology](https://examai.ie/blog/leaving-cert-biology-common-topics) (2026-08-26): Which Biology topics came up most, counted across the 22 Higher and Ordinary papers from 2015 to 2025, with marks, section splits and the 2027 changes.
- [How to Get a H1 in Leaving Cert Biology](https://examai.ie/blog/how-to-get-a-h1-in-leaving-cert-biology) (2026-08-24): A H1 in Leaving Cert Biology is 90%. The new 300-mark written paper, the 200-mark Biology in Practice Investigation, and what the SEC papers show about both.
- [Best Websites and Apps for Leaving Cert Revision](https://examai.ie/blog/best-leaving-cert-revision-websites) (2026-08-21): A directory of Leaving Cert revision websites and apps, free official sources first, with what each paid study site charges, checked in August 2026.
- [How Many Past Papers Should I Do?](https://examai.ie/blog/how-many-past-papers-should-i-do) (2026-08-19): There is no set number of Leaving Cert past papers. What counts is syllabus coverage and marking each paper, and early on the unit is the topic.
- [When Is the Leaving Cert? Dates and Times](https://examai.ie/blog/when-is-the-leaving-cert) (2026-08-17): The Leaving Cert written exams run three weeks in June. 2026 ran 3 to 23 June, exams start 9.30am and 2pm, and what is published for 2027 so far.
- [What Is the Leaving Cert? The Irish Exam Explained](https://examai.ie/blog/what-is-the-leaving-cert) (2026-08-14): The Leaving Certificate is Ireland's state exam at the end of secondary school. The three programmes, subjects, levels, grades, CAO points and NFQ level.
- [Which Leaving Cert Subjects Have the Highest H1 Rates?](https://examai.ie/blog/leaving-cert-h1-rates-by-subject) (2026-08-12): H1 rates by Leaving Cert subject at Higher Level, from the SEC's official 2025 statistics, with candidate numbers and what a high rate does not tell you.
- [Is It Worth Appealing Your Leaving Cert Results?](https://examai.ie/blog/is-it-worth-appealing-leaving-cert-results) (2026-08-10): Leaving Cert appeal upgrade rates from SEC figures, the €40 fee and its refund, whether a grade can go down on appeal, and how an upgrade reaches the CAO.
- [Leaving Cert Results: Your Guide to Script Viewing and Appeals](https://examai.ie/blog/leaving-cert-results-script-viewing-appeals-guide) (2026-08-07): Key dates and steps for Leaving Cert script viewing and appeals: seeing your marks, viewing your scripts, appealing a grade, and the remaining CAO rounds.
- [How to Study With Leaving Cert Past Papers](https://examai.ie/blog/how-to-study-with-past-papers) (2026-08-06): Where the official Leaving Cert past papers and marking schemes are published, how to find a specific paper, and what to do with one once you have it.
- [The Most Common Topics on Higher Level Maths Papers](https://examai.ie/blog/leaving-cert-higher-maths-common-topics) (2026-08-04): A count of how often each maths topic appeared in the 22 Leaving Cert Higher Level papers from 2015 to 2025, split by Paper 1 and Paper 2, from our own corpus.
- [Can I Use ChatGPT to Study for the Leaving Cert?](https://examai.ie/blog/chatgpt-leaving-cert-study) (2026-07-31): An honest look at where ChatGPT helps with Leaving Cert study, where it fails on marking schemes and past papers, and how to use any AI study tool well.
- [How Much Do Grinds Cost in Ireland?](https://examai.ie/blog/how-much-do-grinds-cost-ireland) (2026-07-29): Published grinds prices per hour and per year from Irish grind schools, what the ESRI found about whether grinds are worth it, and cheaper things to try first.
- [Should I Drop to Ordinary Level? A Decision Guide](https://examai.ie/blog/should-i-drop-to-ordinary-level) (2026-07-27): What dropping to Ordinary Level costs in CAO points, when you can change level (including on exam day), and how to test the decision with a past paper.
- [Do Leaving Cert Questions Repeat?](https://examai.ie/blog/do-leaving-cert-questions-repeat) (2026-07-24): What the past papers show about repeated Leaving Cert questions: exact wording almost never returns, but topics and question structures recur.
- [When Should You Start Studying for the Leaving Cert?](https://examai.ie/blog/when-to-start-studying-for-the-leaving-cert) (2026-07-22): When to start studying for the Leaving Cert, phase by phase: 5th year, September, Christmas tests, February mocks, orals in March, and the June exams.
- [How Leaving Cert Marking Schemes Work](https://examai.ie/blog/how-leaving-cert-marking-schemes-work) (2026-07-20): How to read a Leaving Cert marking scheme: where to find one, what the abbreviations mean, and how partial credit works in real 2025 SEC schemes.
- [Where to Get Leaving Cert Past Papers for Free](https://examai.ie/blog/leaving-cert-past-papers-free) (2026-07-17): Every place you can get Leaving Cert past papers and marking schemes free, what the official examinations.ie archive covers, and what the shop books add.
- [How Do CAO Points Work?](https://examai.ie/blog/how-cao-points-work) (2026-07-15): The Leaving Cert points system explained: the full H1-H8 and O1-O8 grade table, your best six results, the 25 maths bonus points, LCVP, and round one offers.
- [Leaving Cert Grades Explained: What Percentage Is a H1?](https://examai.ie/blog/leaving-cert-grades-explained) (2026-07-13): A H1 is 90% or above at Higher Level. The full H1-H8 and O1-O8 percentage bands with CAO points, what happens below 30%, and whether a H7 counts as a pass.
- [How to Choose Your Leaving Cert Subjects](https://examai.ie/blog/choosing-leaving-cert-subjects) (2026-07-06): How to choose your Leaving Cert subjects for 5th year: what's fixed, how to check course requirements, and reading a real exam paper before you commit.
- [Personalised Grinds for Leaving Cert Maths](https://examai.ie/blog/personalised-grinds-lc-maths) (2024-01-29): More than half of Leaving Cert students take grinds. What one-to-one maths help gives you, and how an AI tutor covers the stuck moments on past papers.
- [Leaving Cert Maths Grinds With an AI Tutor](https://examai.ie/blog/ai-grinds) (2024-01-09): How an AI tutor built on the Leaving Cert maths past papers explains the exact step you're stuck on, so you can work through real exam questions on your own.