TGAU / GCSE

Thank you for your question. 

In 2021, we consulted on the range of GCSE subjects that will be available for learners in Wales to choose from. It was following this consultation that we made the decision to discontinue GCSEs in the separate sciences. The driver for this decision was to ensure that qualifications are in line with the ambitions of the Curriculum for Wales. It will also mean that there will be a common approach to science for the majority of learners, which will ensure equality of opportunity and greater consistency in teaching and learning experiences across Wales. You can read more information about this decision here. 

As you have noted, the new GCSE The Sciences (Double Award) will be taught from September 2026. Therefore, learners who will be starting their GCSE courses in Year 10 in September 2025 will be able to study the current separate science GCSEs, should their school offer these qualifications.

In June 2023, we confirmed that the new GCSE The Sciences (Double Award) will be the main science qualification taken by the majority of learners in Wales from September 2025 (Made-for-Wales GCSEs: Summary of Consultation Report). We are confident that this will be the right pathway for most learners because it:

1. supports the Curriculum’s aim of integrating the study of science and developing learners’ scientific enquiry skills, whilst also giving them a strong foundation in each of the disciplines
2. readily supports progression on to post-16 and higher education, and employment
3. frees up space for learners and schools to study a broader more balanced range of subjects
4. will ensure equity in the science curriculum across Wales
5. removes the perception that separate science GCSEs are either required, or preferred, for progression onto STEM courses in further or higher education
6. simplifies the choices for learners at 14 which could increase the number of learners studying STEM at post-16

Learners taking the new double award GCSE will have their performance in each science discipline separately reported alongside their overall grade for completing the qualification. This will be done on a learner’s transcript and based on their exam performance in each of the discrete units for Biology, Chemistry, and Physics. Therefore, learners will receive a unit-level grade (A* – G) for each discipline on their transcript. This will enable them to identify where their strengths lie and will also provide additional information for colleges and universities, when making admission decisions.

Currently around one in five schools in Wales do not offer GCSEs in the separate sciences, and, overall, around two thirds of all learners in Wales take the existing double award GCSE. We know that the different routes through science that currently exist creates a perception of disadvantage, with some learners who take the double award – whether it is their choice or not – feeling less able to pursue science subjects post-16 than those who study separate science. As a result of these reforms, all learners progressing onto AS and A level courses in STEM subjects will have studied the same, renewed double award qualification. Therefore, more learners will feel they have the option to choose to study science at post-16.  To clarify, learners do not need to have studied the separate sciences at GCSE to be able to progress onto AS and A levels in each of Biology, Chemistry and Physics.  

Throughout this process, we have engaged extensively with further education colleges. Those who regularly accept learners from schools who only offer the double award have told us that this does not create a problem for learners in terms of their readiness and progression on to science AS and A level courses. They felt that it would be appropriate for this to become commonplace across Wales as this would mean that all post-16 learners would be starting from the same position.  

We have also mapped the content requirements for GCSE The Sciences (Double Award) to the current A levels and are confident that it will support learners to progress successfully into any science or science related field. 

I hope that this response has been helpful in addressing your concerns and explaining some of the reasons for our decisions in relation to the new Made-for-Wales GCSEs in the sciences.  However, should you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to get in touch. 

Thank you for your question.  The National 14-16 Qualifications are being designed to meet the needs of all learners, including those with additional learning needs, both through the level of demand and through the breadth of subjects and learning preferences.  Across the general, work-related and skills-based subject areas, qualifications will be available for learners at Entry levels 1 to 3, level 1 and level 2.

For example,  the general Foundation qualifications will be offered, spanning Entry 1 through to level 1, in subjects that sit alongside the GCSE subjects within each Area of Learning Experience.  These include Humanities, Combined science, Digital technology, Design and Technology, Expressive Arts, Mathematics and Numeracy, Cymraeg, Core Cymraeg, English and International languages pathways. There will also be a suite of practical based Work-related Foundation qualifications in 15 subjects, such as Hospitality and Catering, Motor Vehicle Maintenance and Sport, Leisure and Recreation. The full list is available in our decisions report. Across both sets of Foundation qualifications, learners will be able to pick units from different levels, to account for learners with spiky profiles. 

This will also be the case with the Skills Suite of qualifications, comprising of Skills for Life, Skills for Work and a Project qualification. The wide and varied range of units within Skills for Life and Work will cater for those who prefer more practical forms of learning. The units will also enable learners to achieve nationally recognised qualifications by demonstrating a broad range of skills and prepare them for success in learning, life and work.

You can read more on each of these qualifications in our decisions report. We are confident that the National 14-16 Qualifications will provide engaging and interesting routes for learners of all abilities, but if you would like to discuss further, and/or share you thoughts on anything that may be missing for learners please do contact the team.

We can confirm that this is correct. The revised GCSE in Digital Technology will be introduced for first teaching from 2026 with the first award of the new qualification in Summer 2028.

In January 2024, we published our statement of policy intent on the new National 14-16 qualifications offer. This statement confirms our position on the designation of other qualifications for 14-to-16-year-olds  (including Eduqas GCSES ) alongside our new approved GCSEs, which will be available for teaching from September 2025, and the remaining National 14-16 Qualifications, which will be available for teaching from September 2027.  We have since launched our consultation on our proposed approach to designating 14-16 qualifications, and are seeking views. Following this consultation, confirmation of whether awarding bodies will be able to apply to offer any 9-1 GCSEs in Wales will be provided by the end of 2024. Should they able to do so, it would then be at the discretion of awarding bodies as to whether they wish to apply to be able to offer any of their 9-1 GCSEs, bilingually, in Wales. Therefore, we are not, currently, in a position to be able to advise whether Eduqas GCSEs will be available for teaching from September 2025 onwards.

This is a matter for Welsh Government. They are now consulting on their draft 14 to 16 Statutory Learner Guidance. In relation to science, they note their proposal that “in years 10 and 11, we would strongly advise schools to ensure that all learners follow an appropriate, challenging and ambitious course that leads to a qualification in science. The new made-for-Wales GCSE suite of qualifications offers The Sciences – double award GCSE. This double award has been introduced to provide the most appropriate qualification for the majority of learners. There will be an alternative, single award, integrated science GCSE, which provides an alternative route for the small proportion of learners who would benefit from undertaking a science qualification with less content than the double award, given their particular circumstances. This single award qualification is not designed to support progression to GCE science (AS and A-Levels).” (Page 14). 

They are currently seeking views on this proposed guidance through a consultation. You can read the proposals and respond to their consultation here.

In January 2024, we published our statement of policy intent on the new National 14-16 qualifications offer. This statement confirms our position on the designation of other qualifications for 14-to-16-year-olds alongside our new approved GCSEs, which will be available for teaching from September 2025, and the remaining National 14-16 Qualifications, which will be available for teaching from September 2027.  We have since launched our consultation on our proposed approach to designating 14-16 qualifications, and are seeking views. Following this consultation, confirmation of whether awarding bodies will be able to apply to offer any 9-1 GCSEs in Wales will be provided by the end of 2024. Should they able to do so, it would then be at the discretion of awarding bodies as to whether they wish to apply to be able to offer any of their 9-1 GCSEs, bilingually, in Wales.  Therefore we are not, currently, in a position to be able to advise whether GCSEs in Sociology and Geology will be available for teaching from September 2025 onwards.