Get the facts: GCSE reform
Updated 26 January 2018
Applies to England
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1. Introduction
New GCSEs in English language, English literature and maths will be taught in schools in England from September 2015, with the first results issued in August 2017.
Further subjects will see new GCSEs introduced over the following two years.
2. What new GCSEs will look like
The main features of the new GCSEs are:
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A new grading scale of 9 to 1 will be used, with 9 being the top grade. This will allow greater differentiation between students and will help distinguish the new GCSEs from previous versions.
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Assessment will be mainly by exam, with other types of assessment used only where they are needed to test essential skills.
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There will be new, more demanding content, which has been developed by government and the exam boards.
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Courses will be designed for two years of study – they will no longer be divided into different modules and students will take all their exams in one period at the end of their course.
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Exams can only be split into ‘foundation tier’ and ‘higher tier’ if one exam paper does not give all students the opportunity to show their knowledge and abilities.
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Resit opportunities will only be available each November in English language and maths.
3. Timetable
| New GCSE to be taught from: | First results will be issued in: | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| September 2015 | Summer 2017 | English language English literature mathematics |
| September 2016 | Summer 2018 | ancient languages (classical Greek, Latin) art and design biology chemistry citizenship studies combined science (double award) computer science dance drama food preparation and nutrition geography history modern foreign languages (French, German, Spanish) music physics physical education religious studies |
| September 2017 | Summer 2019 | ancient history astronomy business classical civilisation design and technology economics electronics engineering film studies geology media studies modern foreign languages (Arabic, Bengali, Chinese, Italian, Japanese, modern Greek, modern Hebrew, Panjabi, Polish, Russian, Urdu) psychology sociology statistics |
| September 2018 | Summer 2020 | ancient languages (biblical Hebrew) modern foreign languages (Gujarati, Persian, Portuguese, Turkish) |