An evaluation of the addition of sustainability content to commonly taken GCSEs
Rayn Lakha I entered a slightly-edited version of this essay into the 2023 Homerton College, University of Cambridge essay competition. The prompt was:“Evaluate a measure that could be implemented in your community to make it more sustainable and/or healthy. Describe any ideas you have and how you would test and implement them in your community”. The essay was highly commended, and won the “best essay for this question” prize. Tackling climate change necessitates individual action (Hillsdon, 2022); individual action requires knowledge (Travers, 2023). Education, then, could be a potent tool in increasing England’s sustainability. Unfortunately, sustainability-related content is sparse in England’s curriculum, existing only in siloed science and geography syllabi, (British Science Association, 2023) the latter of which is quickly dropped by most students (ofqual, 2022). The pluriversality, complexity, and immense importance of sustainability render this approach inadequate: the British
