IIS Project 2026 Ag Science: A Teacher’s Guide to Getting Students H1 Results

The IIS Project 2026 accounts for 25% of the Leaving Cert Agricultural Science grade, making it one of the most important parts of the entire exam. Yet, every year, students lose easy marks not because they lack ability but because they lack structure, clarity and direction.

For Ag Science teachers, the IIS can feel like a never ending cycle of:

• unclear hypotheses

• weak research

• poor analysis

• copy paste work

• panicked final submissions

But the truth is simple:

The IIS is not hard — it is poorly structured in most classrooms.

And structure is where H1 results are won.

What Is the IIS Project in Leaving Cert Ag Science?

The Individual Investigative Study (IIS) requires students to:

• design their own agricultural experiment

• collect primary data

• analyse results

• use secondary research

• write a scientific report

• link everything to a national theme

For 2026, the official brief is:

“Explore how an environmentally sustainable food production system could support Ireland’s future agricultural competitiveness.”

Students may work in groups for practical work but every report must be individually written and unique. The final IIS report is externally assessed and submitted in April 2026.

Why Students Fail the IIS: The Real Reasons

Students rarely fail the IIS because they are lazy.
They fail because they are lost.

Common problems teachers see every year:

❌ Hypotheses that are opinions, not scientific statements
❌ Experiments that don’t answer the research question
❌ Poor understanding of variables
❌ Weak data analysis
❌ No link to the 2026 sustainability brief
❌ Incorrect or missing referencing
❌ Overwriting sections with low marks
❌ Underdeveloping the sections that matter most

The issue is not effort.
The issue is lack of direction.

The Teacher’s Role in High Scoring IIS Projects

Teachers who consistently produce high performing IIS projects don’t edit every paragraph. They engineer better systems.

Effective IIS teachers:

• insist on research questions early

• reject weak hypotheses immediately

• vet experimental methods before work begins

• enforce proper data collection

• demand scientific language
  

• insist on referencing from day one

• shift students from description → analysis

High grades don't come from “fixing projects”.
They come from building better processes.

The 2026 IIS Theme Explained for Teachers

The 2026 theme is not theoretical it is practical, measurable and highly assessable.

The workbook breaks the brief into strands such as:

• carbon footprint reduction

• precision farming

• water conservation

• biodiversity

• alternative feeds

• sustainable beef & dairy

• organic systems

• soil health and fertility

Students are guided to:
✔ narrow broad ideas
✔ identify variables
✔ design manageable experiments
✔ link research to Irish agriculture
✔ analyse real data
✔ write evidence based conclusions

This is where most projects succeed or fail — topic selection.

The Marking Scheme Is Predictable (Use It)

The IIS is worth 100 marks:

Yet most students guess how long each section should be.

The workbook maps:
👉 word counts
👉 expectations
👉 examiner language
👉 structural requirements

Students stop guessing.
They start following the examiner’s logic.

Why Teachers Use the 2026 IIS Workbook

Teachers don’t need another explanation of sustainability.

They need:
✅ less confusion
✅ fewer drafts
✅ less chasing
✅ better data
✅ higher standard of writing
✅ confident students
✅ faster completion
✅ improved grades

The workbook acts like a silent co-teacher in the classroom.

Students:

• work independently

• come prepared

• follow structure

• reference correctly

• analyse properly

• submit on time

And teachers:

• spend less time correcting

• answer fewer repetitive questions

• manage stress

• track progress

• see better outcomes

If You Want More H1 Projects in 2026…

Give students:

• a system

• a structure

• a standard

Don’t wait until January when projects are already broken.

Strong IIS projects are built from September.
Weak ones are panic repaired in March.

Final Advice for Teachers

You cannot motivate a student into a H1.

But you can remove the confusion that causes a H5.

And that’s exactly what the workbook does.