Minister for Education Norma Foley TD has today published the list of 100 selected Phase One Schools that will be the first to offer Leaving Certificate Drama, Film and Theatre Studies and Leaving Certificate Climate Action and Sustainable Development from the start of the 2025/26 school year.

Among the schools participating in phase one, 57 post-primary schools have been selected to introduce Leaving Certificate Drama, Film and Theatre Studies from the start of the 2025/26 school year and 43 schools have been selected for Leaving Certificate Climate Action and Sustainable Development.

The announcement marks an important moment in the Senior Cycle Redevelopment Programme and the Minister’s vision for a Senior Cycle that provides young people with an opportunity to study a range of subjects that align with their talents and passions.

Teachers in the selected schools will begin working with Oide, the teacher support service, this school year, a year in advance of teaching the subject. All selected Phase One schools will be provided with the necessary resources to establish new subject departments in their schools and to support the teaching and learning of the subject from the start of the 2025/26 school year.

Drama, Film and Theatre Studies will promote and encourage creativity as a basis for learning through immersive experiences. Students will have the opportunity to cultivate informed thinking through learning supported by creative and critical processes. 

Climate Action and Sustainable Development will 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. Students will be empowered to build their understanding of a number of interconnected core concepts and principles related to climate action and sustainable development.  

Senior Cycle Redevelopment

In 2022, the Minister set out an ambitious programme for the redevelopment of Senior Cycle, guided by the vision of a Senior Cycle that delivers ‘equity and excellence for all’.

The programme is informed by, and builds upon, the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment’s (NCCA) Advisory Report on the review of Senior Cycle, as well as the experience of Leaving Certificate students, a growing demand for change and international experience and perspectives.

The Minister for Education announced an acceleration of the programme on 20 September 2023, including that revised specifications for seven existing Leaving Certificate established subjects (Biology, Physics, Chemistry, Arabic, Latin, Ancient Greek, and Business) will be introduced in schools from the 2025/26 school year.

Part of these transformative developments include the introduction of the two new Senior Cycle subjects of Drama, Film and Theatre Studies, and Climate Action and Sustainable Development.

Two selection committees consisting of members from the Senior Cycle Redevelopment Programme Management Office (SCRPMO), Oide, NCCA and the Inspectorate were established to assess each application received under the Call for Applications. The committees assessed applications against the selection criteria notified in the call for applications; previous involvement in early roll out of a subject, school readiness and current provision. The final selection also took account of school types, location, size, DEIS status and Irish language classification, ensuring that the final selection reflects the broad composition of schools across Ireland that applied to be part of the process.

Each of these new and revised subject specifications 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). 

The two new subjects will be introduced in schools on a phased basis from the start of the 2025/26 school year. The phasing builds on the previous experience of introducing other new Leaving Certificate subjects, such as Computer Science and Physical Education. 

Specifications for both subjects can be found on Curriculum Online:

Climate Action and Sustainable Development

Drama, Film and Theatre Studies

Phase One schools

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