26 Sep 2024
Cambridge has released the latest changes to its curricula in What’s new, providing greater emphasis on climate change and sustainability across the Pathway. The changes will support young learners to understand and address the climate crisis, empowering them with the knowledge and skills to make a positive impact in their communities.
At Cambridge IGCSE and O Level, subjects such as Geography (0460/0976/2217) and Environmental Management (0680/5014) now have more explicit climate change content and teach more skills to tackle climate change.
In Cambridge IGCSE Environmental Management there are references to climate change and sustainability throughout the syllabus including a new sub-topic called ‘Climate Change’ where learners describe and explain the causes of enhanced greenhouse effects and strategies to manage the impacts of climate change.
‘Plastic pollution’ is a new topic through which learners engage with the impacts of plastics on marine ecosystems and develop strategies and solutions to reduce it.
In addition to a new climate change topic in Cambridge IGCSE Geography, other Cambridge IGCSE and O Level subjects such as Business, Economics, and Accounting now embed key climate change and sustainability knowledge.
Dr Judith Roberts, Curriculum Programmes Manager, leading on Climate Change for Products and Services, said: "What I love about this year's What's new is that it shows what it means to have a multidisciplinary approach to climate change education. Learners are being informed and empowered at every stage of the Cambridge Pathway and in a range of subjects.
The Pathway through Geography has been revised and updated. This year we have a new Humanities curriculum for Cambridge Primary and Lower Secondary which includes Geography. It's fantastically flexible so schools can make it work for them in their context. It also provides learners with the skills and understanding they will need to excel in their next steps.”
The changes follow our call for every Cambridge school to deliver high-quality climate change education that shapes knowledge, understanding, and skills and gives learners the confidence to thrive and make a positive impact in our changing world. We shared our views on how that education can be developed in an introduction paper.
Globally, gaps remain in how climate change education and sustainability are taught in schools. In our survey of students, 80% of Cambridge learners voted for more opportunities to learn about climate change at school or college. To begin to fill this gap, Cambridge has been raising awareness of our commitment to climate change education and inviting school leaders to join our climate change research community
Now, through the integration of more climate change education in syllabuses across the Pathway, learners will be able to see the bigger picture of the causes of climate change and the contribution they can make to tackle the crisis.
Examples of new climate integration into our syllabuses and resources:
- Cambridge IGCSE/ O Level Business: New topics include how businesses can become more sustainable by using renewable energy and fewer resources, by reusing, reducing and recycling, developing environmentally products and using environmentally friendly packaging. The advantages and disadvantages of a business becoming more sustainable are considered.
- Cambridge IGCSE/ O Level Economics: The revised Economics syllabus contains new climate and sustainability content across four topics, which cover areas such as government interventions to address market failure and the environmental factors of poverty.
- Cambridge IGCSE/ O Level Accounting: The revised Accounting syllabus includes a new sub-topic on technology and sustainability. This focusses on storing accounting data safely and sustainably, and on the risks associated with not taking a sustainable practice.
You can find out more about What’s new here and this blog describes our new approach to modern foreign languages at Cambridge Primary, Lower Secondary and Cambridge IGCSE.