British public examinations, generally taken aged 15-16
For other uses, see GCSE (disambiguation).
General Certificate of Secondary Education
A mock-up of an English Language exam paper's front page
Acronym
GCSE
Type
Prerequisite to a school leaving certificate
Knowledge / skills tested
Varies depending on subject, but in almost all GCSE subjects general knowledge, fundamental writing and numerical skills are tested.
Year started
1988 (1988)
Score / grade range
England: Grades from 9 to 1, with 9 being the highest
Wales: Grades from A* to G, with A* being the highest
Northern Ireland: Grades from A* to G, with A* being the highest. There is also a C* grade
Restrictions on attempts
All units for a single subject must be taken in one examination series. Only the first attempt of a student is recorded for school league table purposes, but students may take a subject as many times as they like.
Countries / regions
England, Wales and Northern Ireland
Languages
English, Irish a and Welsh b
Fee
Free to students in schools. Resits and private entries incur variable fees.
^a Irish-medium exams are only available in Northern Ireland, from the CCEA exam board.^b Welsh-medium exams are only available in Wales, from the WJEC exam board.
The General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) is an academic qualification in a range of subjects taken in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, having been introduced in September 1986 and its first exams taken in 1988. State schools in Scotland use the Scottish Qualifications Certificate instead. However private schools in Scotland often choose to follow the English GCSE system.[1]
Each GCSE qualification is offered in a specific school subject provided by several examination boards, such as English literature, English language, mathematics, science, history, geography, art and design, design and technology, business studies, classical civilisation, drama, music and foreign languages.[2]
The Department for Education has drawn up a list of preferred subjects known as the English Baccalaureate for England based on the results in eight GCSEs, which includes both English language and English literature, mathematics, three of the four sciences (physics, chemistry, biology, computer science), geography or history and an ancient or modern foreign language.[3]
Studies for GCSE examinations take place over a period of two or three academic years (depending upon the subject, school, and exam board), starting in Year 9 or Year 10 for the majority of pupils, with examinations usually being sat at the end of Year 11 in England and Wales.[a]
^"GCSE options 2024: What GCSE options are there?". BBC Bitesize. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
^"GCSE subject content". Gov.uk. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
^"English Baccalaureate (EBacc)". Gov.uk. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
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