Drama, film and theatre studies and climate action and sustainable development are two new school subjects being introduced to secondary school students across Ireland.
Minister for Education, Norma Foley TD, is calling on secondary schools to apply for phase one of introducing these new diverse subjects into their curriculum, as they will be established on a phased basis from the start of the 2025/26 school year.
The call for applications is part of Minister Foley’s plan to redevelop senior cycle education in Ireland, which includes the revision of all existing subject specifications.
“We have seen the fantastic success of the Irish film industry at the Oscars, with Cillian Murphy winning an Oscar for Best Actor and Element Pictures from Dublin celebrating four Oscars for their film Poor Things,” Minister Foley said.
“In Ireland, we are renowned worldwide for our contributions to the arts and I hope this subject will help students to thrive in the arts even more. And who knows, some of the new graduates may have memorable nights at the Oscars in years to come.”
A support package for schools who take part in the first phase of these new subjects will be sent out. All phase one schools will be provided with appropriate technical resources required to establish the new subject department in their school and additional teacher allocations.
“We have all seen in recent years how school students have engaged with and led actions to address climate change. As always, it is our responsibility to nurture and encourage our students to continue to contribute to solutions designed to protect our world,” Minister Foley added.
“I encourage schools to consider submitting an application to be considered as one of the first phase of schools offering these modern new subjects to their students from the start of the next school year.”
The draft specifications require students to attend one live, public theatre performance and one live cinema performance. The Department will provide phase one schools with an annual grant per student for the 2025/26 and 2026/27 school years to support student attendance at performances, and costs associated with the appropriate film streaming service.
For climate action and sustainable development, the draft specifications provide the opportunity for away visits and outdoor learning for students at local ecosystem projects, campaigning on sustainability matters and community outreach.
Each of these subjects will incorporate additional assessment components that are not a traditional written examination, which will be worth a minimum of 40% of the available marks and will be externally assessed by the State Examinations Commission (SEC).
Post-primary schools are invited to consider the information provided on Phase One Call for Applications 2024 | Gov.ie and submit an application to be in the first phase of schools introducing the new subjects from the start of the 2025/26 school year.
Applications will close on 19 April 2024.