Re-imagining religious studies: the new GCSE explained
Qualifications Manager, Kate Russell, explores the new GCSE in religious studies, including the changes to content and assessment and how these changes support the purposes of the Curriculum for Wales.
Wales is becoming an increasingly diverse and multicultural place to live, learn and work. It is more important than ever that we equip learners to appreciate the complex, pluralistic and diverse nature of our society by understanding the need for tolerance, resilience, and empathy.
What has changed in the new religious studies GCSE?
There have been a number of changes to the GCSE qualifications in the humanities area of learning and experience (AoLE), most of which relate to content and assessment. These changes have been brought about in response to the Curriculum for Wales, consultation feedback, and co-creation with stakeholders.
Ensuring pluralistic content
While there have been some updates to the content within the new religious studies GCSE, there haven’t been any radical changes. Learners will still have the opportunity to develop an understanding of religious and non-religious beliefs, values, and philosophical convictions. Learners will also continue to engage with ethical and moral issues.
There are examples of where there are small but important changes, such as allowing learners the opportunity to embrace their sense of cynefin.
Learners will be considering the human experience, the natural world and their own place within it, from a pluralistic perspective. They will understand different religions and non-religious philosophical convictions in their own locality, in Wales, and across the wider world.
The new GCSE also allows for opportunities to align with aspects of the religion, values and ethics statutory guidance, and supports some of the cross-cutting themes of the curriculum, such as human rights and diversity.
Changes to assessment
Consistent with other GCSEs in the humanities AoLE, the new GCSE Religious Studies qualification will include two non-examination assessments (NEA), contributing 40% to the overall grade. Although this increases the overall assessment time in comparison with the existing qualification, there are clear benefits to increasing the proportion of NEA.
A specific advantage of NEA in religious studies, within the context of the Curriculum for Wales, is that it enables schools to consider local contexts to a greater extent than would be possible in an exam. For example, in one of the NEA tasks learners will have the opportunity to select and research a local charity to help consider the importance of human rights issues to society based on religious and non-religious perspectives, in addition to the purpose, aims and work of that charity or organisation.
As well as enabling more localisation within the qualification, the NEA tasks also provide a greater opportunity to assess the use and application of skills and techniques relevant to religious studies, such as research and evaluation.
Supporting centres through change
There is a wide range of support available to teachers as they prepare to deliver the new religious studies qualification from September 2025.
WJEC has published a number of bilingual digital resources relating to the new specification, and professional learning events are ongoing throughout the spring and summer.