The Senior Cycle caters for students in the 15 to 18-year age group. It includes an optional Transition Year, which follows immediately after the Junior Cycle. Transition Year provides an opportunity for students to experience a wide range of educational inputs, including work experience. During the final two years of Senior Cycle students take one of three programmes, each leading to a State Examination: the traditional Leaving Certificate, the Leaving Certificate Vocational Programme (LCVP) or the Leaving Certificate Applied (LCA).