GCSE Core Cymraeg

Studying Cymraeg gives learners the skills they need to gain experience and enjoyment of Welsh culture and become confident users of the language.

The new GCSE Core Cymraeg will develop learners’ confidence, ambition, cultural awareness and identity, creativity and empathy. They will learn about how language works and develop skills that will strengthen their communication in other languages.

This qualification will help learners in English-medium education to better reflect on their own cultural identity and to understand how the world around us is shaped by language, ideas and experiences from different cultures, times and places.

A strong focus on speaking and listening will help achieve Welsh Government’s aim of reaching a million Cymraeg speakers by 2050.

What will learners be assessed on?

Understanding and response

  • Understand and respond critically to a range of written texts and speech.

  • Make comparisons between both written texts and spoken communication.

  • Communicate thoughts, feelings and opinions in a range of contexts.

  • Understand written texts and oral communication.

Communication and expression

  • Communicate clearly and effectively in different contexts.

  • Adapt communication for different contexts and audiences.

  • Organise communication to support cohesion and overall coherence.

  • Use a range of sentence structures for clarity, purpose and effect, with accurate grammar and, in written communication, punctuation and spelling.

  • Use translation skills to enhance communication.


How will learners be assessed?

  • 50% of the qualification will be assessed through non-exam assessment

  • These assessment tasks will be assessed through speaking (30%) and listening (20%).

  • All assessment tasks will require learners to communicate and interact verbally in a spontaneous manner.

  • 50% of the qualification will be assessed through external exams

  • 25% will be assessed through reading

  • 25% will be assessed through writing

  • All exams must be taken at the end of the course, and submission of non-exam assessment tasks must take place within the final year of the course.

For more details on the purpose and aims, content and assessment arrangements of this qualification, please read the full design proposal.

We also have a Youth Friendly version for you to access.

Studying Cymraeg gives learners the skills they need to gain experience and enjoyment of Welsh culture and become confident users of the language.

The new GCSE Core Cymraeg will develop learners’ confidence, ambition, cultural awareness and identity, creativity and empathy. They will learn about how language works and develop skills that will strengthen their communication in other languages.

This qualification will help learners in English-medium education to better reflect on their own cultural identity and to understand how the world around us is shaped by language, ideas and experiences from different cultures, times and places.

A strong focus on speaking and listening will help achieve Welsh Government’s aim of reaching a million Cymraeg speakers by 2050.

What will learners be assessed on?

Understanding and response

  • Understand and respond critically to a range of written texts and speech.

  • Make comparisons between both written texts and spoken communication.

  • Communicate thoughts, feelings and opinions in a range of contexts.

  • Understand written texts and oral communication.

Communication and expression

  • Communicate clearly and effectively in different contexts.

  • Adapt communication for different contexts and audiences.

  • Organise communication to support cohesion and overall coherence.

  • Use a range of sentence structures for clarity, purpose and effect, with accurate grammar and, in written communication, punctuation and spelling.

  • Use translation skills to enhance communication.


How will learners be assessed?

  • 50% of the qualification will be assessed through non-exam assessment

  • These assessment tasks will be assessed through speaking (30%) and listening (20%).

  • All assessment tasks will require learners to communicate and interact verbally in a spontaneous manner.

  • 50% of the qualification will be assessed through external exams

  • 25% will be assessed through reading

  • 25% will be assessed through writing

  • All exams must be taken at the end of the course, and submission of non-exam assessment tasks must take place within the final year of the course.

For more details on the purpose and aims, content and assessment arrangements of this qualification, please read the full design proposal.

We also have a Youth Friendly version for you to access.

Page last updated: 14 Dec 2023, 01:46 PM