Encouraging enquiry through GCSE The Sciences: the new double award explained
Mazen Abdelmoteleb, Qualifications Manager , examines the new GCSE The Sciences qualification and considers what teachers and learners need to be aware of, ahead of first teaching in September 2026.
GCSE The Sciences (Double Award) offers a rich, relevant, and engaging learning experience, designed to inspire and challenge the next generation of scientists in Wales.
This exciting new qualification replaces the current GCSE Science (Double Award). It offers learners a stimulating journey through biology, chemistry, and physics, with opportunities for learners to explore how different topics within each discipline relate to one another.
By blending the core scientific disciplines with contemporary contexts and essential skills, this qualification aims to empower learners to explore, connect, and apply their understanding in meaningful ways. Scientific enquiry skills are embedded throughout the qualification to encourage curiosity amongst learners.
The new double award will readily support progression to AS and A levels in the sciences.
What’s changing in the new double award qualification?
This new qualification has been designed to support the Curriculum for Wales, including the relevant statements of ‘what matters' from the science and technology area of learning and experience.
A new qualification title
One of the more obvious changes has been the new title: GCSE The Sciences (Double Award).
This has been a deliberate move to highlight the qualification’s comprehensive coverage of all three core disciplines of biology, chemistry and physics. It also emphasises the value of learners developing an understanding of how scientific ideas interconnect, in line with the guidance set out in the Curriculum for Wales.
Understanding the sciences through up-to-date, engaging contexts
The content has been revised to be more relevant and engaging to learners today.
It creates meaningful opportunities for learners to explore cross-cutting themes from the Curriculum for Wales, such as sustainability.
Learners will also explore topics such as climate change, human health, electricity for the future and the earth’s water supply, gaining opportunities to deepen their understanding of these critical issues across local, national, and global contexts.
Exploring relationships and connections between topics and disciplines
Many scientific topics and concepts relate to one another. To reflect this, the new qualification offers learners the opportunity to explore how different topics within each science discipline interrelate. These connections will be assessed through the final examinations at the end of Year 11.
GCSE The Sciences has also been designed to generate opportunities for teachers to explore relationships and connections between the sciences with their learners, but this will not be directly assessed.
A new assessment focussing on scientific enquiry skills
Scientific enquiry skills are fundamental to the teaching and learning of science. In line with curriculum guidance, learners are encouraged to be curious, ask questions and seek evidence-based answers.
Throughout the qualification, learners will have opportunities to develop their scientific enquiry skills, including identifying the benefits and challenges of using scientific enquiry to explore ideas and answer questions, making informed decisions based on scientific enquiry, and performing data analysis.
Practical scientific skills will be assessed as part of a new Assessment of Scientific Enquiry. This assessment will include a practical element, based on relevant and engaging contexts, as well as questions assessing a range of other enquiry skills.
The grading structure
GCSE The Sciences (Double Award) will be a unitised qualification. This means learners will have the opportunity to complete assessments in both Year 10 and Year 11.
Learners who successfully complete this qualification will receive two grades on a scale from A* - G. This reflects the size of the qualification and signals the breadth of work that learners have completed. These two grades will be based on an eight-point scale, which means that both grades will be the same.
This approach is being taken in all the made-for-Wales double-award GCSEs to ensure consistency.
Support for teachers
Over the coming year, WJEC will be rolling out a programme of professional learning and resources to support the delivery of this qualification, including:
- a specification walk-through
- live, online qualification briefing
- face-to-face ‘Preparing to Teach’ events
- assessment walk-throughs
Further information can be found on their website.