GCSE, AS and A level subjects accredited to be taught from 2017
Updated 8 September 2017
Applies to England
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This page shows the status of specifications submitted to Ofqual to be taught as GCSEs, AS and A levels from September 2017.
Exam boards take these subject content and requirements documents and use them to produce a specification and sample assessment materials for any subject they wish to offer. The specification is submitted to Ofqual for consideration. Ofqual convenes a panel of subject and assessment experts to scrutinise the specification and make a decision on whether it meets all the requirements for that subject. If it does, it will be accredited and teachers will be able to use it. If it does not, it will be sent back to the exam board and they will have to change their specification based on the feedback given by Ofqual. When they have made the amendments they will submit the new specification.
1. Number of qualifications accredited
All 26 GCSE subjects have all specifications accredited.
All 19 AS and all 20 A level subjects have all specifications accredited.
2. Number of specifications accredited
2.1 For teaching from 2017
All of the 44 GCSE specifications have been accredited.
All of the 73 AS and A level specifications have been accredited.
2.2 For teaching from 2016
In 2016 we accredited 147 GCSE, AS and A level specifications.
2.3 For teaching from 2015
In 2015 we accredited 122 GCSE, AS and A level specifications.
3. The accreditation process
We have produced a diagram of the accreditation process.
4. Key information
| Entry | Meaning |
|---|---|
| ✓ | Specification accredited |
| - | Exam board is not submitting a specification for this subject |
| ‘submission due’ | The date the exam board is aiming to submit for accreditation |
| ‘awaiting submission’ | We are awaiting a submission from the exam board but they have not indicated when we will receive it or the date they indicated has passed |
| ‘submission received’ | We have received a specification from the exam board and it is awaiting an accreditation decision |
The submission dates are when we receive digital copies of assessment materials. Sometimes we can’t begin a review until we receive related, printed materials. This is usually within 1 or 2 working days of a digital submission.
5. GCSEs
| Subject | AQA | OCR | Pearson (Edexcel) | WJEC Eduqas |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GCSE ancient history | - | ✓ | - | - |
| GCSE Arabic | - | - | ✓ | - |
| GCSE astronomy | - | - | ✓ | - |
| GCSE Bengali | ✓ | - | - | - |
| GCSE business | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| GCSE Chinese | ✓ | - | ✓ | - |
| GCSE classical civilisation | - | ✓ | - | - |
| GCSE design & technology | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| GCSE economics | ✓ | ✓ | - | - |
| GCSE electronics | - | - | - | ✓ |
| GCSE engineering | ✓ | - | - | - |
| GCSE film studies | - | ✓ | - | ✓ |
| GCSE geology | - | - | - | ✓ |
| GCSE Italian | ✓ | - | ✓ | - |
| GCSE Japanese | - | - | ✓ | - |
| GCSE media studies | ✓ | ✓ | - | ✓ |
| GCSE modern Greek | - | - | ✓ | - |
| GCSE modern Hebrew | ✓ | - | - | - |
| GCSE PE (short course) | - | - | ✓ | ✓ |
| GCSE Polish | ✓ | - | - | - |
| GCSE psychology | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | - |
| GCSE Panjabi | ✓ | - | - | - |
| GCSE Russian | - | - | ✓ | - |
| GCSE sociology | ✓ | - | - | ✓ |
| GCSE statistics | ✓ | - | ✓ | - |
| GCSE Urdu | ✓ | - | ✓ | - |
6. AS and A levels
| Subject | AQA | OCR | Pearson (Edexcel) | WJEC Eduqas |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Accounting: A level | ✓ | - | - | - |
| Accounting: AS level | ✓ | - | - | - |
| Ancient history: A level | - | ✓ | - | - |
| Ancient history: AS level | - | ✓ | - | - |
| Chinese: A level | - | - | ✓ | - |
| Chinese: AS level | - | - | ✓ | - |
| Classical civilisation: A level | - | ✓ | - | - |
| Classical civilisation: AS level | - | ✓ | - | - |
| Design & technology: A level | Fashion & Textiles: ✓ Spec Product Design: ✓ |
✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Design & technology: AS level | Fashion & Textiles: ✓ Spec Product Design: ✓ |
✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Electronics: A level | - | - | - | ✓ |
| Electronics: AS level | - | - | - | ✓ |
| Environmental science: A level | ✓ | - | - | - |
| Environmental science: AS level | ✓ | - | - | - |
| Film studies: A level | - | ✓ | - | ✓ |
| Film studies: AS level | - | ✓ | - | ✓ |
| Further maths: A level | ✓ | Spec A: ✓ Spec Spec MEI B:✓ |
✓ | - |
| Further maths: AS level | ✓ | Spec A: ✓ Spec Spec MEI B: ✓ |
✓ | - |
| Geology: A level | - | ✓ | - | ✓ |
| Geology: AS level | - | ✓ | - | ✓ |
| History of art: A level | - | - | ✓ | - |
| Italian: A level | - | - | ✓ | - |
| Italian: AS level | - | - | ✓ | - |
| Law: A level | ✓ | ✓ | - | ✓ |
| Law: AS level | ✓ | ✓ | - | ✓ |
| Maths: A level | ✓ | Spec A: ✓ Spec Spec MEI B: ✓ |
✓ | - |
| Maths: AS level | ✓ | Spec A: ✓ Spec Spec MEI B: ✓ |
✓ | - |
| Media studies: A level | ✓ | ✓ | - | ✓ |
| Media studies: AS level | ✓ | ✓ | - | ✓ |
| Music technology: A level | - | - | ✓ | - |
| Music technology: AS level | - | - | ✓ | - |
| Philosophy: A level | ✓ | - | - | - |
| Philosophy: AS level | ✓ | - | - | - |
| Politics: A level | ✓ | - | ✓ | - |
| Politics: AS level | ✓ | - | ✓ | - |
| Russian: A level | - | - | ✓ | - |
| Russian: AS level | - | - | ✓ | - |
| Statistics: A level | - | - | ✓ | - |
| Statistics: AS level | - | - | ✓ | - |