Leaving Cert students will soon be studying Barbie.
The smash-hit movie by Greta Gerwig, starring Marot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, will be on the English syllabus for 2026.
It was awarded the first ever 'Golden Globes Cinematic and Box-Office Achievement Honor' at this year's ceremony, and made more than $1 billion in global cinema ticket sales when it was released last summer.
Holly Furlong, Education Officer with the Irish Film Institute, says Barbie has multiple layers and film references.
" There are huge cinematic references, Greta Gerwig has done a lot of work to reference back other films in that genre.
"Even the opening scene is referencing 2001's Space Odyssey. So there are huge levels of film literature within the film, as well as topics such as feminism, women and men, in terms of masculinity with the character, Ken.
"So there are a lot of topics for students to hopefully engage with that for their Leaving Cert English paper".
Banshees of Inisherin, which was released in 2022, is also expected to be included on the list of new novels, films, poems and plays to be studied for the English exam.
The film, which was written and directed by Martin McDonagh, received nine Oscar nominations, including Best Picture and Best Director.
Its stars, Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, Barry Keoghan and Kerry Condon, also received Oscar nominations for their performances.
However, Holly Furlong thinks many secondary school students won't have seen The Banshees of Inisherin yet.
"A lot of them may not have seen it because, interestingly, it has a IFCO rating of 16. So it's quite a strong choice for the Leaving Cert text.
"So certainly any students sitting it in 2026 will not be of the age yet to have seen the film. So it'll be quite a new title for them to explore.
"But there is usually one or two Irish films within the mix. So it's kind of great to see something as big as Banshee's on the list".
Barbie and The Banshees of Inisherin appear alongside six other films, including The Shawshank Redemption, and Wes Anderson's, The Grand Budapest Hotel.
The list of prescribed texts were published in a circular by the Department of Education earlier today.
Films - Prescribed Material for the Leaving Certificate English - 2026
| The Grand Budapest Hotel |
| The Shawshank Redemption |
| Mustang |
| Barbie |
| Knives Out |
| Diego Maradona |
| On the Waterfront |
| The Banshees of Inisherin |
