Marcus Rashford's social media usage added to GCSE curriculum

Manchester United and England star Marcus Rashford will become part of the new GCSE curriculum, as students will study his use of his online platforms for their media studies course.

Rashford is celebrated in the United Kingdom for the influential role he's played in raising awareness of child food poverty across the country, while taking a stand against racism and discrimination online.

He challenged Prime Minister Boris Johnson in the fight to offer free school meals for children in need, and is seen as a worthy role model for youngsters everywhere. As a result, Rashford's story will now be taught to high school teenagers.

The Man Utd forward's use of social media to promote these worthy causes has become part of the GCSE curriculum for media studies, in the hope that this example will highlight major social issues such as racism and discrimination.

Rashford himself was subjected to racist abuse after missing a penalty in England's Euro 2020 final shootout defeat to Italy, and a mural of the striker in Manchester was vandalised. He defended himself eloquently via Twitter however, maintaining that racism and hate would never win.

His shining example is one that Sandra Allan, AQA's head of curriculum for creative arts, believes can influence children's lives for the better, as she explained that it'll help maintain a commitment to 'equality, diversity and inclusion in the curriculum'.

"I'm really excited by the changes we've made - they're engaging and relevant and will inspire and motivate," Allan said.

"Marcus Rashford is one of the most influential and inspirational young people in the UK, so students can learn a huge amount from how he uses social media to make a real impact.

"It's not just an opportunity for them to learn about social media - it's also a great way to learn about important social and race issues as part of our commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion in the curriculum."


Source : 90min