How many points is a H1 in the Leaving Cert?

A H1 is worth 100 CAO points. A H1 in Higher Level Maths is worth 125, because of the 25-point bonus.

What percentage is a H1?

90 to 100 per cent. Each grade below it covers a ten per cent band: H2 is 80 to 89, H3 is 70 to 79, H4 is 60 to 69, H5 is 50 to 59, H6 is 40 to 49, H7 is 30 to 39, and H8 is below 30.

How does the Higher Level Maths bonus work?

25 points are added to your Higher Level Maths result if you get a H6 or better. A H6 is worth 46 points, so with the bonus it becomes 71. The bonus is added before your best six subjects are chosen, so it can also push Maths into your top six.

What is the maximum number of CAO points?

625. That is six H1s at 100 points each, plus the 25-point Higher Level Maths bonus.

How many subjects count for CAO points?

Your best six. Any subjects beyond that do not add points, though you still need to meet the specific subject requirements for the courses you apply to.

Is a H7 a pass in the Leaving Cert?

A H7 is 30 to 39 per cent and carries 37 CAO points. It counts for points, but many courses set minimum subject requirements at O6/H7 or higher, so check the requirements for the course rather than relying on the points alone.

Leaving Cert Grading System & CAO Points Explained

The grades

Since 2017 the Leaving Cert has used eight grades at each level. H for Higher, O for Ordinary, F for Foundation — and each grade covers a ten per cent band.

Grade	Percentage	Higher	Ordinary	Foundation
1	90–100%	100	56	20
2	80–89%	88	46	12
3	70–79%	77	37	0
4	60–69%	66	28	0
5	50–59%	56	20	0
6	40–49%	46	12	0
7	30–39%	37	0	0
8	Below 30%	0	0	0

So a H4 is worth 66 points and an O1 is worth 56 — which is the fact worth sitting with. A top grade at Ordinary Level is worth less than a middling grade at Higher. That's the arithmetic behind the advice to stay at Higher Level if you can hold on there.

An O1 (56 points) is worth the same as a H5. If you're weighing dropping a level, that's the real comparison — not O1 against H1.

LCVP Link Modules

The Link Modules are graded differently and carry their own points:

Result	Points
Distinction	66
Merit	46
Pass	28

They can count as one of your six.

The Higher Maths bonus

25 extra points are added to Higher Level Maths at H6 or above. Below H6, nothing.

Which produces some numbers worth knowing:

HL Maths grade	Base	With bonus
H1	100	125
H2	88	113
H3	77	102
H4	66	91
H5	56	81
H6	46	71
H7	37	37 — no bonus

Here's the part people get wrong. The bonus is added before your best six are chosen. So a H6 in Higher Maths is worth 71 points when the six are picked — which is more than a H4 in anything else. It can pull Maths into your top six when the bare grade wouldn't have.

And note where the cliff is: H6 to H7 costs you 34 points, not 9. That single grade boundary is worth more than most people realise, and it's the one we spend the year making sure our students stay the right side of.

How the points are counted

Three rules, and that's the whole of it:

Your best six subjects count. Anything beyond six adds nothing to your total — though you still need whatever specific subjects your courses require.

The Higher Maths bonus is added first, then the six are chosen.

The maximum is 625 — six H1s at 100, plus the 25-point bonus.

Work out your own points → Put in your grades and see the total, with the Maths bonus applied automatically. Then search 1,300+ courses and check what last year's Round 1 actually needed.

A word on subject requirements

Points get you considered; requirements get you eligible. Plenty of courses set a minimum in a named subject — commonly O6/H7 in Maths, or a specific grade in a language or science — and no number of points elsewhere substitutes for it.

Check the requirement for each course you're putting down, not just its points. Every year people miss an offer they had the points for.

If Maths is the subject deciding your points

For a lot of students it is — because of the bonus, because of that H6/H7 cliff, and because it's the subject people most often drop a level in.

That's the one we teach: weekly grinds in Kilkenny and online, Higher and Ordinary, every session recorded, Mathslive notes included.

Points values checked against our own CAO calculator, August 2026. The grading structure is set by the State Examinations Commission and the points scale by the CAO — check cao.ie for anything that affects an application.