Consultation outcome

GCSE reform: regulations for food preparation and nutrition

Applies to England

This consultation has concluded

Download the full outcome

GCSE Food Preparation and Nutrition: Decisions on Conditions and Guidance

Request an accessible format.
If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need a version of this document in a more accessible format, please email publications@ofqual.gov.uk. Please tell us what format you need. It will help us if you say what assistive technology you use.

Analysis of Responses to our Consultation on Conditions and Guidance for GCSE Food Preparation and Nutrition

Request an accessible format.
If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need a version of this document in a more accessible format, please email publications@ofqual.gov.uk. Please tell us what format you need. It will help us if you say what assistive technology you use.

Detail of outcome

We have decided to adopt some of our proposed rules and guidance for reformed GCSEs in food preparation and nutrition.

We have also made a number of changes to reflect concerns raised in response to our consultation. In particular, we have reduced the length of the assessment testing preparation and cooking skills from 4 hours to 3 hours, and brought forward the date on which exam boards can release tasks for that assessment. We have already published our:

Our new rules will require reformed GCSEs in food preparation and nutrition to:

  • comply with the Department for Education’s subject content for GCSE food preparation and nutrition, and with our assessment objectives
  • allocate 50% of total marks to non-exam assessment, which will separately test:
    • students’ food preparation and cooking skills (35% of total marks), which must be assessed through a single 3-hour task which requires students to prepare, cook and present a menu of 3 dishes
    • students’ ability to investigate and evaluate the working characteristics, functional and chemical properties of ingredients (15% of total marks), which must be evidenced through a report produced by the student

Our guidance explains how awarding organisations should interpret our assessment objectives, and sets out the expected length of the report students should produce.


Original consultation

Summary

Proposed regulations and guidance for the design, delivery and award of new food preparation and nutrition GCSEs.

This consultation ran from
to

Consultation description

This consultation is about the rules and guidance we need to put in place for new GCSEs in food preparation and nutrition. These rules will apply to the exam boards that want to offer new food preparation and nutrition GCSEs from September 2016.

This consultation takes forward decisions made following our earlier consultation Developing new GCSE, A level and AS qualifications for first teaching in 2016 - Part 2, and is part of Ofqual’s work supporting the government’s changes to GCSEs, AS and A levels.

Documents

GCSE Food Preparation and Nutrition: Consultation on Conditions and Guidance

Request an accessible format.
If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need a version of this document in a more accessible format, please email publications@ofqual.gov.uk. Please tell us what format you need. It will help us if you say what assistive technology you use.
Published 26 March 2015
Last updated 21 August 2015 + show all updates
  1. Published consultation outcome

  2. First published.