Q&A: Wales' GCSE changes explained

A GCSE in engineering is among new subjects being offered from 2025

All of the GCSEs offered to 14 to 16 year olds in Wales have been reviewed and updated with some new subjects introduced.

The main changes are to qualifications in the core subjects - English, Welsh, maths and sciences.

Language and literature come under one qualification in English and Cymraeg, as Welsh is now officially named.

And individual sciences - physics, chemistry and biology - will not be offered as separate GCSEs.

Film and digital media, dance and engineering are some of the new qualifications.

Overall, there will be less emphasis on exams and more assessments throughout the year but it varies and maths, for example, is still all exam-based.

Why are GCSEs changing?

It's changing to fit in with the new curriculum being introduced in schools in Wales.

The curriculum, seen as the biggest change in Welsh education in decades, is already being rolled out in most schools.

From September 2023 it will cover all pupils in Wales up to age 12 to 13.

It aims to offer a broader, more rounded education with an emphasis on the experiences children get, not just the knowledge and skills.

Current Year 7 pupils - 11 and 12-year-olds - will be the first to study the new GCSEs when they reach Year 10 in September 2025, sitting exams in 2027.

What's the situation in other UK nations?

England and Northern Ireland also take GCSEs but Scotland has a different set of qualifications.

GCSEs already vary from nation to nation.

In England, a new system of grading has been introduced running from nine to one, instead of A* to G, with grades in almost all subjects decided in final exams.

The changes in Wales increases that divergence.

But each country has tried to keep some consistency so that employers, colleges and universities have an idea of standards wherever a pupils comes from.

What are the concerns?

Many people in education are excited by the changes in the curriculum but worry about how GCSEs will fit in to it.

How do you pin down some of the qualities it is trying to encourage in assessments and exams?

Some had argued for GCSEs to be ditched altogether.

The view of colleges, universities and employers about the qualifications is a concern for some.

But Qualifications Wales, which is introducing the changes, said it has made sure those concerns are understood and Welsh pupils will not be disadvantaged.

And getting to grips with the changes will put more pressure on schools still coping with the fall-out of Covid and tight budgets.

The emphasis has been placed on assessments rather than final exams in the revised subjects, apart from maths

Are there any disadvantages in combining subjects?

This has been the most controversial part of the reform.

It has led to accusations of "dumbing down" and concerns that, in the sciences, there could be too big a jump to A-level.

The argument in favour is that it will be more equal, giving more students the same experience of all the sciences and addressing the fact that some pupils currently don’t study literature at GCSE at all.