Securing the new Made-for-Wales GCSE offer – decisions report
Qualifications Wales has today published Special Conditions of Recognition for relevant awarding bodies to ensure that learners in Wales will be able to choose from the full range of new GCSEs intended to support the Curriculum for Wales.
In Autumn 2022, Qualifications Wales opened a consultation on a new range of Made-for-Wales GCSE qualifications and announced its decisions on the design of the new range of qualifications today.
In order to be confident that learners, schools and colleges will be able to choose from the full range of new Made-for-Wales GCSEs, Qualifications Wales consulted in January 2023 on proposals to require any awarding body seeking to offer these new, Made-for-Wales GCSEs must offer the full range of GCSE subjects, and to make those qualifications available to learners for the duration of their approval period.
After careful consideration, Qualifications Wales has decided to set and publish special conditions broadly as outlined in the consultation.
The purpose of the new special conditions is:
- to ensure that the full range of Made-for-Wales GCSE subjects is available to learners
- to ensure that awarding bodies make those qualifications available for the entire duration of their approval period
Osian Llywelyn, Head of Regulatory Policy, said “We want to be confident that learners, schools and colleges have access to the full range of new Made-for-Wales GCSEs, and to ensure that the future 14-16 qualification offer is viable, sustainable and stable.”
“The decisions that we’ve taken will ensure that there are no gaps in the intended GCSE provision for 14–16-year-olds. It will also provide certainty and a more solid foundation for planning and securing the right professional learning and resources to support the introduction and delivery of the new qualifications.”
To find out more, read the full decisions report on the Qualifications Wales website.
If you’d like to find out more about Qualifications Wales’s final GCSE decisions, register for the Made-for-Wales GCSEs webinar on Thursday 29 June.