A new Leaving Certificate subject aims to encourage students to become activists on issues related to climate change, developing "a realistic and hopeful perspective on the nature of action", according to the course designers.
Fifth year students across an initial 43 schools will become the first to study Climate Change and Sustainable Development when it is introduced in their schools in September.
A national rollout of the subject will begin in 2027.
The subject aims to develop students' capacity for "informed and meaningful action for a just and sustainable world" as they engage with key sustainability challenges, including the climate crisis, according to the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA).
The subject will be multi-disciplinary, encompassing areas of science, geography and other disciplines.
It will be grounded, the NCCA said, in scientific evidence and in human rights principles.
A key attraction for many students will be the fact that 40% of marks will be awarded for an "action project" based on a brief that will be set out annually by the State Examinations Commission.
According to the NCCA, the action project provides students with an opportunity to develop a deeper understanding of the concepts and principles they have learned throughout the course, while also employing the practical strategies and thinking they have developed to learn to take action in the area of climate action and sustainable development.
Kinsale Community School is among the 43 schools that will pilot the new subject from September.
Education around sustainability has been a key extracurricular activity at the school for a number of years, prompted by the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
"When we came out of Covid we found that the students were really quiet, they were really withdrawn. They weren't inclined to talk in class and that really concerned us," Deputy Principal Kathleen O'Brien said.
Having watched students prior to the pandemic become involved in the international student protest movement led by Greta Thunberg, Kinsale Community School decided to capitalise on this.
"We had these amazing students protesting outside City Hall [in Cork city] about climate issues and I felt that our students should have the opportunity within our school to learn about this stuff, to become more informed and empowered," Ms O'Brien said.
"I felt we should develop activists within our walls, so we decided to focus on sustainability, and it’s been huge for students' self-efficacy and personal development. They have come out of themselves."
Ms O'Brien has been centrally involved with the NCCA in designing the new course.
The most unusual feature of the new subject is its focus on activism. For a formal school subject this is a new departure, and it is one that Ms O'Brien welcomes.
"The fact that students can now study this subject is absolutely amazing and it's going to change lives. We need students who will become activists.
"Through doing this course they are going to become really informed and learn that by taking small actions they can make a difference," she said.
Ms O'Brien refers too to what she calls a "huge amount of eco-anxiety" among students. This is evident when speaking to students at the school.
We met Transition Year and other students who were working in the school's greenhouse, potting up tomato and basil seedlings. In the sunlit central courtyard by the greenhouse, the mood was relaxed and it didn't feel remotely like 'school'.
However, when it came to climate change these students were serious.
"I’m really pretty worried about climate change," student Skye Sheedy said.
"I get a lot of eco-anxiety when I hear stuff all over the media about our environment and the future."
"It's the factories, the fossil fuels, I'm scared for our future and the future for our grandchildren, that the world will be destroyed for them," TY student Caoimhe Finnegan said.
Caoimhe intends to take up the new subject when she goes into fifth year in September, so do Lia Darcy and Matthew Colohan.
"I'm really excited about the activism side, about making my voice heard, making people listen, making politicians listen to the young people about our future," Lia Darcy said.
She added: "It's our duty to change. If we don't change in this generation, it’s going to start deteriorating."
Matthew agreed, saying: "The project work really attracts me, but also making a difference."
To Skye's regret the new subject has come too late for her as she already in fifth year.
"I really wish I could do this subject," she said.
"I love the projects and reaching out to people. I feel like when I'm doing practical things it helps me de-stress."
Ms O'Brien feels this is one aim of the course, channelling student anxiety into positive action will empower them and give them hope.
The NCCA specification for the subject talks about enabling students "to recognise their own agency, grow in confidence to influence change and increase their capacity to act".
But what about academic standards? Is the subject going to be academically rigorous?
Both the action project, worth 40%, and the written exam, worth the remaining 60%, will - like all other Leaving Certificate subjects - be assessed by the State Examinations Commission.
"It's going to be as academically rigorous as any other subject, there is no fear of that," Ms O’Brien said.
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