Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Change is coming with GCSE created for Northern Ireland pupils
A GCSE in climate change could soon be available to students in Northern Ireland.
Dr Ian Humphreys revealed the news in an interview with the Mirror from COP26.
The Keep Northern Ireland Beautiful chief said he would like to see climate change embedded within the curriculum as most students don’t learn about it until secondary school.
He added: “We would like to see climate education mandated in our curriculum.”
He praised a programme funded by DAERA Minister Edwin Poots “that’s available to post-primary school children now and to young people, teachers and youth leaders”.
Dr Humphreys says the materials which were launched at COP26 “alone isn’t going to be sufficient because teachers aren’t equipped to teach on this subject”.
The Eco Schools and Live Here Love Here campaign leader added: “They don’t have the skills and aren’t trained in teacher training. If they
Ian Humphreys have gone through our school system they won’t have that education.
“Yet here we are declaring an emergency and in fact we are not even educating our young people about it.”
Dr Humphreys says education on climate “has to go beyond us having the courses available and moving to being mandated into the curriculum very quickly”.
With that in mind he told how Keep
Northern Ireland Beautiful is creating the country’s “first climate change GCSE”.
He added: “We have developed the modules for the various awards with the Open College Network and at the moment it doesn’t have an examinable piece... we are still talking to CCEA to get it on there recommended list.
“But it is up and running and it is approved by OCN.”