Junior Cycle Profile of Achievement (JCPA)
Celebrating Every Student’s Learning Journey at Mercy College
The Junior Cycle Profile of Achievement (JCPA) is the official record your daughter receives at the end of 3rd Year. It is awarded by the State Examinations Commission (SEC) and recognises the full range of learning that takes place during Junior Cycle — not just exam results.
At Mercy College, we value every student’s strengths, talents and progress. The JCPA helps us celebrate this by bringing together several important parts of your daughter’s learning.
Throughout 2nd and 3rd Year, students complete CBAs in each subject. These are meaningful, handson tasks such as investigations, projects, presentations and practical activities.
Examples in our school include CBAs in Mathematics, Music, PE, Religious Education, Science, SPHE and Spanish.
Each CBA receives a descriptor:
- Exceptional
- Above Expectations
- In Line with Expectations
- Yet to Meet Expectations
These descriptors appear on the JCPA and give a rich picture of your daughter’s abilities beyond written exams.
Alongside CBAs, students also complete:
- Areas of Other Learning: Extracurricular/Out of class activities outside of the classroom where students develop skills; teamwork, communication, etc.
- The JCPA also recognises your daughter’s wider contributions to school life — for example:
Sports, music, art and performance
Leadership roles
Volunteering
Participation in school events and initiatives
These experiences help shape confident, capable young people.
- Areas of Wellbeing (AOWs): In PE, CSPE and SPHE, projects/activities that build resilience, environmental awareness, physical fitness.
At the end of 3rd Year, students sit the State Examinations Commission Junior Cycle exams.
Grades such as Distinction, Higher Merit, Merit, Achieved and others are awarded by the SEC and included on the JCPA.
The JCPA is more than a certificate — it reflects the whole student.
It highlights the skills that matter for Senior Cycle, college, apprenticeships and the workplace, including:
- Communication and teamwork
- Problem solving
- Research and project skills
- Creativity and digital skills
- Time management and responsibility
- Independent learning
These are the skills employers and further education providers value most.
We see the JCPA as a celebration of each student’s growth — academically, personally and socially. It recognises effort, engagement and achievement across all three years of Junior Cycle, and it helps students step confidently into the next stage of their education.