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Climate change to enter the GCSE curriculum in 2025

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London, UK
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The Department for Education in the UK is planning to create a new GCSE qualification focused on ecological teachings and how students can help protect the planet. This will reportedly come into effect in 2025.

If only we knew then what we know now, right?

Perhaps if we’d known the full extent of the threats carried by climate change, we’d have responded with some level of urgency back in the 1950s – is the misguided sentiment that drives us younger folk to the brink of insanity.

Yet, grossly unfair as it may be, those who will likely suffer the worst effects of climate change and be burdened with the most responsibility of fixing the crisis are the younger generations.

Therefore, it’s important that as many young people as possible become clued up on the natural world, climate change, and general sustainability.

This, thankfully, is a view shared by the UK Department for Education, which is bringing an entirely new ‘climate change’ GCSE curriculum into effect for 2025. Education secretary Nadhim Zahawi is expected to officially announce this plan on Thursday (21 April) in greater detail.

Teenage pupils are already learning about environmental issues through the studies of urbanisation in geography, and land use in biology, but the government has revealed this course will ‘go further’ and delve specifically into the impact of human activity on natural environments.

For those who wish to pursue a career in natural preservation, these lessons will aim to develop skills, ‘from understanding how to conserve local wildlife to conducting the fieldwork needed to identify spaces,’ says Zahawi.

Whether or not these lessons will be mandatory akin to that of PHSE remains to be seen, but we obviously hope that is the case.

In terms of where the learning material will actually stem from, Cambridge OCR and Ofqual have collaborated to develop graded theory and tests with input from independent experts. Again, we’re expecting purely unbiased material based on legitimate facts and reports.

This is the first new official GCSE since the grading scale was reformed back in 2017, highlighting how essential it is that climate change is officially recognised now throughout institutions worldwide.

The hundreds of thousands of students that previously partook in school strikes can now pat themselves on the back. Their sacrifice will have been a significant factor in the decision making process, and future generations will receive the crucial teachings needed as a result.

Perhaps the days of young people carrying the megaphone to teach our peers, parents, politiatians, and teachers about climate change won’t be necessary forever, though we’ll wait for the official announcement before getting too excited.

Tech Editor London, UK

I’m Jamie (He/Him), the Editor in Chief at Thred. Keeping up with gaming and revolutionary technology is my forte, but when away from my keyboard, you’ll probably find me wrapped around a large Tango ice blast at the latest mediocre horror flick. Follow me on Twitter, LinkedIn and drop me some ideas/feedback via email.

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