17/05/2026
Class 5 is a pivotal year, often called the 'pinnacle of childhood,' where children stand at a balance point between the innocence of their younger years and their growing awareness of themselves and the world, consolidating their abilities while beginning to form their identities. Though they show confidence, they remain sensitive as they stand in a harmonious equilibrium between early childhood and adolescence, ready to engage with the world with newfound strength and capacities. Ultimately, Class 5 is often seen as a bright and transformative year.
In the Waldorf / Steiner curriculum, this newfound confidence in Class 5 children is met with epic adventures of ancient civilisations, from India, Iran / Persia, Mesopotamia, to Egypt, and Greece.
One of the Class 5 plays widely adopted in Australia is the Epic of Gilgamesh, the oldest surviving major work of literature from ancient Mesopotamia recorded in the Akkadian language. It tells the story of Gilgamesh, the semi-divine king. His tyrannical rule prompts the gods to create Enkidu, a wild man, to challenge him. Gilgamesh tames Enkidu, the two become inseparable friends and slay monsters Humbaba and the Bull of Heaven. As punishment, the gods kill Enkidu, shattering Gilgamesh's sense of invincibility and triggering a desperate quest for immortality. Though he fails to find eternal life, Gilgamesh gains wisdom, accepts human mortality, and returns to Uruk to take pride in his human accomplishment through recording history on stone tablets, transforming from an arrogant tyrant into a wise king.
In the Advanced Diploma intensives, student-teachers learned the story, its significance for Class 5 children as they often face similar themes in friendship and social life, and how they too can transform themselves in challenging times. The embodiment of the characters as they play different roles in the play offers opportunities for the growth and transformation of each student and the whole class; and in doing so, builds further confidence and identity individually and collectively. The student-teachers explored ways to select or cast children in the different roles, the different aspects of production, direction and performance of the play. It was a highly engaging learning experience!
