Minister for Education Helen McEntee wants works by William Shakespeare to remain compulsory for Leaving Cert English. Policymakers had proposed that “The Bard” be optional for higher level students.
At present, the 16th century playwright is the only writer whose work must be studied by higher-level students.
A National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) report on the consultation for the new Leaving Cert English draft specification found that some teachers questioned “the necessity” of having Shakespeare as a requirement at higher level. The teachers believe this position imposes “limitations” on the “experience of the students”.
The final report, published recently for introduction to schools no earlier than September, 2027, does not reference Shakespeare as a requirement.
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A senior source confirmed an intention that the playwright’s works would be optional for students.
It is understood the proposal was partly a response to the planned introduction of a Leaving Cert oral exam and a recognition that all students would, in effect, have to speak about Shakespeare if he remained mandatory.
Under the planned oral exam, students will be expected to “to make connections, gain insights, synthesise and evaluate ideas” from texts they have studied in an assessment worth 20 per cent of their overall grade.
However, a spokeswoman for the Department of Education said the Minister wanted “further work” to be completed on the specification, including that the study of Shakespeare “remain a compulsory element of the curriculum given the central importance of his works”.
Conor Murphy, an English teacher at Skibbereen Community College, Co Cork, says Shakespeare should be optional. He believes this would give teachers more freedom and broaden students’ experiences.
“Raising one writer above all not only feels outdated and counter to artistic integrity, but also a dangerous concept to exist unchallenged in our education system,” he said. “It’s time for William to join the rest of his colleagues on a long list of options, a place the historical figure was familiar with.”
While ministers for education tend to endorse proposals drafted by the NCCA, it has not always been the case.
In 2019, then-minister for education Joe McHugh overturned the NCCA’s policy advice to make history an optional subject in the Junior Cycle. Instead, he directed that it be given “special core status”.
Students sitting the Leaving Certificate in 2026 have the option to study Macbeth as part of their single text or comparative study. Shakespearean comedy The Merry Wives of Windsor is also an option for the comparative study.
