Climate change: Northern Ireland pupils to study new qualification

via BBC News

GCSE and AS-level pupils in Northern Ireland can study for a new qualification in climate change and environmental action from September.

The course in Reducing Carbon Footprints Through Environmental Action has been approved by the Department for Education (DE).

The new qualification is awarded by the Open College Network, Northern Ireland (OCN NI). A GCSE equivalent, it will be assessed by coursework rather than exams.

A new natural history GCSE has recently been introduced in England, which includes teaching pupils about climate change and how to protect the planet. In Scotland, the national exams body will no longer ask pupils to give explanations on the “positive” effects of climate change as part of a geography course.

Many pupils in Northern Ireland already cover environmental topics in subjects like geography, but the new qualification brings a number together on one course. It includes modules on things like understanding the role of carbon in climate change, tackling single-use plastics, fast fashion and climate campaigning.

The environmental education manager at Keep Northern Ireland Beautiful, Charlene McKeown, has helped produce resources for schools offering the subject. “There’s a definite need for our young people to become aware of the environmental crisis that they are essentially living in and about to face,” she told BBC News NI.

Read the full story from the BBC here.

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