Home Economics Predictions for Leaving Cert 2025 (Higher Level)

You may also like our guide to Leaving Cert Home Economics.

Remember that these are a series of educated guesses and not to take too many risks.

The Leaving Cert Home Ec course is quite broad, so it can be difficult to give a huge amount of time to all topics. I would definitely recommend covering all topics at some stage during 6th year. As you get closer to June, decide what your preferred long questions are (mine were Q2 and Q5) and start to focus in on them. Home Ec is a multi-disciplinary subject, so work smart by linking questions and topics together to save time. For example, if you do Biology, maybe consider studying the 5 kingdoms chapter well in biology so that you are covered for Q3 in Home Ec if microbiology comes up. To add to that, just because something is predicted to come up in one of the optional questions, does not mean that it will not make an appearance in one of the core questions!

With regards to deferred papers in Home Economics papers, it is our impression that questions appearing on deferred papers do not reduce the likelihood of their appearance on the traditional paper the following summer. For example, carbohydrates were featured prominently in Question 1B of the 2023 deferred paper. The topic reappeared on the 2024 traditional paper with similar prominence. It is our impression that deferred papers are not significantly “influencing” the overall pattern of exam topics and there is no evidence that topics covered in deferred exams are being avoided in subsequent traditional exams.

 

Course Breakdown

Core Area 1: Food Studies

Core Area 2: Resource Management and Consumer Studies

Core Area 3: Social Studies

Elective 1: Home Design and Management

Elective 2: Textiles, Fashion and Design

Elective 3: Social Studies

All students must study the three core areas and then you pick an elective to study (your teacher will make this choice for you)

Traditional Exam Breakdown

The final exam is marked out of 320 marks (or 280 marks for those candidates taking the Textiles, Fashion and Design Elective). The exam lasts 2.5 hours and is broken into three sections.

Section A: Short Questions (60 marks) – answer 10 out of 12 questions. These questions are based on the core area 1 and 2. Food studies make up a huge part of this section

Section B: Long Questions (180 marks) – answer 3 out 5 questions. Question 1 is compulsory, based on food studies and worth 80 marks. Pick two questions out of question 2, 3, 4 and 5.

Section C: The Elective (80 marks/40 marks) – Elective 1 and 3 are worth 80 marks. Elective 2 is worth 40 marks as there is a project component

Home Economics Predictions 2025

Section B Q1

  • Contemporary trends in the Irish diet
  • Protein
  • Healthy eating guidelines
  • Lipids
  • Special diets (for those with obesity, coeliac disease, anaemia etc.)

Section B Q2

  • Plant-based diets
  • Food commodities (nutritional value, production etc.) and corresponding vitamins and minerals
  • Value-added foods
  • Food processing

Section B Q3

  • Food additives and preservatives
  • Sustainable eating (looking at food waste and sustainable food production such as organic farming, reducing carbon footprint etc.)
  • Food processing techniques
  • Sensory analysis
  • Irish food safety

Section B Q4

  • Topical issues such as the increase in the cost of living
  • Housing/mortgages
  • Consumers and the environment
  • Consumer law
  • Household appliances

Section B Q5

  • Marriage
  • Roles and responsibilities
  • Changes that have occurred in family structures
  • Family law
  • Generational conflict

Section C Elective Q3

  • Emigration
  • Childcare (increasing cost, lack of childcare provision)
  • Poverty
  • Work-life balance

Track record

Home Economics Predictions 2024

Section B Q1

  • Current patterns in the Irish diet
  • Recent studies on food choice/food habits
  • Fibre/Bowel Disorders
  • Lipids
  • Carbohydrates
  • Minerals (calcium and iron)

Section B Q2

  • Food commodities such as meat and dairy
  • Production of food
  • Nutritional value of food
  • Functional/fortified foods
  • Fat/Oils

Section B Q3

  • Food preservation
  • Micro-organisms and food spoilage
  • Aesthetic awareness/sensory analysis
  • Irish food agencies and food legislation
  • Methods of cooking food

Section B Q4

  • Cost of living and home management
  • Money studies – saving, budgeting, borrowing
  • Household appliances
  • Consumer behaviour

Section B Q5

  • Sociological terms
  • Functions of family
  • Rights and responsibilities of family members
  • Family as a caring unit
  • Conflict and conflict resolution

Section C Elective Q3

  • Education (all education levels, returning to education, accessibility, changes occuring in Junior Cycle and Leaving cert)
  • Leisure
  • Childcare
  • Work (flexibility in working hours, job-sharing, part-time work, work from home options)

Home Economics Predictions 2023

Section B Q1

  • Carbohydrates
  • Lipids
  • Fibre/Bowel Disorders
  • Vitamins (watch out for B12, A and C)

Section B Q2

  • Dairy – milk, cheese, yoghurt
  • Calcium
  • Vitamins
  • Meat – nutritional value, processing, bord bia
  • Functional/fortified foods
  • Fat/Oils

Section B Q3

  • Food preservation
  • Food poisoning
  • Aesthetic awareness/sensory analysis
  • Irish food agencies
  • Food legislation
  • Methods of cooking food

Section B Q4

  • Consumer law (CCPC, CAI etc.)
  • Consumer studies – rights and responsibilities
  • Saving/budgeting
  • Current affairs (e.g., cost of living)

Section B Q5

  • Marriage breakdown
  • Family – structure, functions
  • Family law
  • Family as a caring unit

Section C Elective Q3

  • Work
  • Change in work hours (e.g., job-sharing, part-time work)
  • Education (all education levels, returning to education, accessibility)
  • Social Change
  • Leisure – work/life balance

Home Economics Predictions 2022

Although it’s not possible to “predict” the short questions, by studying the core areas 1 and 2, you’ll have yourself fully covered. The long questions however are much more predictable. The home ec course is so long and broad that it’s very difficult to give a huge amount of time to all topics in the weeks leading up to the exam so predictions can be very helpful. These predictions below are based on the patterns of the exam papers over the last number of years (what’s due to come up, what hasn’t come up before) as well as current affairs (covid-19 pandemic, the economy etc.) Everyone knows that predictions are not guarantees but I would suggest having these topics covered very well as they are very likely to appear.

Best of Luck with your studies and with the exams!

Section B Q1

·      Table analysis style question ( very likely that there will be a return to the traditional table analysis after the backlash over the 2021 Q1 )

·      Carbohydrates

·      Fibre

·      Lipids

·      Current dietary guidelines

Section B Q2

·      Dairy – milk, cheese, yoghurt

·      Calcium

·      Meat

·      Vitamins (haven’t appeared in a long question since 2019, watch out for fat-soluble vitamins)

·      Meat – nutritional value, processing, bord bia

Section B Q3

·      Microbiology

·      Food preservation

·      Food spoilage

·      Sensory Analysis

Section B Q4

·      Consumer Studies – environment, rights and responsibilities

·      Housing

·      Mortgages

·      Household finances – savings, budgeting

Section B Q5

·      Marriage

·      Marriage breakdown

·      Family – structure, roles, dealing with conflict

·      Family law

·      Making a will

Section C Elective Q3

·      Work

·      Unemployment

·      Education

·      Leisure – work/life balance, different types of activities depending on cost, age etc