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The Minister for Health Promotion, Catherine Byrne, has welcomed the announcement by An Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar and the Minister for Education and Skills, Richard Bruton this week that Physical Education is to be introduced as an examinable subject for the Leaving Certificate in September, 2018. The new Leaving Certificate PE (LCPE) curriculum will be available in selected schools from September, 2018. A Framework for Senior Cycle PE, which is not for examination, will be introduced at the same time. Schools have been invited to take part in the first phase of LCPE and of the Framework.  PE will still be available to all students.

This announcement is a key part of the overall emphasis that the Government is putting on the promotion of healthy lifestyles and fulfils important commitments in the Programme for a Partnership Government, the Healthy Ireland Framework, which is the national framework for action to improve the health and wellbeing of the country over the coming generation, and the National Physical Activity Plan, which aims to increase the number of people taking regular exercise by 1% per annum over its lifetime.

Healthy Ireland has worked with the National Physical Activity Plan Implementation Group and specifically with the Department of Education and Skills in supporting development of the new curriculum for Senior Cycle PE.

Minister Catherine Byrne said,

“Physical activity in schools provides a vital foundation for lifelong activity and wellbeing. I would therefore like to congratulate the Minister for Education and Skills, and his Department, on the introduction of PE as an examinable subject for the Leaving Cert. This is a further advance in raising the profile and importance of physical activity in society; a step that is crucial in creating a healthier Ireland”