It all adds up as sailors sign up to do Leaving Cert maths on seven seas

Katherine Donnelly Education Editor

EDUCATION has no boundaries, as sailors with the Naval Service are about to find out.

A new online teaching and learning system is being rolled out to allow them to study Leaving Cert maths while at sea.

Increasingly, maths is regarded as a key skill for life in the navy but many enlisted personnel only have a Junior Cert qualification. Maths is a key requirement for entry into Naval Service apprenticeship programmes.

Because of the nature of the job, involving four weeks at sea and two weeks at home, pursuing further study has not been easy.

Now, a new deal with online learning company TheMathsTutor.ie, which operates an e-learning system for the second-level Project Maths syllabus, will allow personnel to do lessons online while on board.

Developed by a team of Irish mathematicians and IT specialists, it offers video lessons and interactive exercises.

The system is being rolled out on LE Orla, with the expectation that other ships will follow suit. Already 15 enlisted personnel on LE Orla have signed up, and commanding officer Lt Cdr Conor Kirwan will offer tutorials to students who need help.

Lt Cdr Kirwan said the system would give people the opportunity to complete this milestone exam.