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GCSE and A level subject content consultation - Statement by Minister for Schools

Today the Minister of State for Schools, Nick Gibb, has made a written statement on GCSE and A level subject content consultation.

Read the statement

Today I am launching a public consultation on revised subject content for seven GCSEs and fiveA levels which will be taught from 2017.

This represents an important step in the third phase of GCSE and A level reform. Our aims forGCSE and A level reform are unchanged. We are reforming GCSEs and A levels to be rigorousand more knowledge-based and to match the qualifications used in the best education systems inthe world. The reforms aim to ensure that GCSEs are more academically demanding and will bequalifications in which students, employers, and further and higher education institutions canhave confidence. At A level, our reforms aim to ensure that they prepare students forundergraduate study. A priority in the development process has therefore been to secure theviews of subject experts, particularly university academics in the relevant subjects.

The subject content documents being published today set new expectations which all awardingorganisations’ specifications must meet. Awarding organisations have drafted content, workingwith Department for Education and Ofqual. An additional consultation will be published in theautumn with content for the remaining subjects to be taught from September 2017.

This consultation is an opportunity for teachers, further and higher education colleges, parentsand students, industry and all those with an interest in these subjects to provide their views andallow us to take them into account when redrafting the content for final publication.

Summary of changes to subjects

Astronomy GCSE has been reformed to ensure it has the same level of demand as the newlyreformed GCSE science content. Demand has been increased by introducing new areas ofknowledge and placing greater emphasis on students’ use of mathematical skills.

The business GCSE content increases breadth and depth of knowledge, and introduces morefocus on the overall purpose of business, on how the different parts of a business work together,and on how business decisions are made.

The new economics GCSE content has been significantly strengthened and focuses clearly oneconomics as a social science, with additional depth added such as requiring students tounderstand movements along, and shifts in, supply and demand curves, and with moredemanding mathematical requirements.

The engineering GCSE has an increased level of demand with a greater emphasis on systemsrelatedcontent, a detailed section on testing and investigation, and new and more demandingmathematics.

Environmental science A level has been brought in line with other reformed science A levels, andrequires greater scientific knowledge, understanding and skills.

The new geology GCSE content requires students to study a greater number of minerals, rocktypes and fossil groups, and there is new content on planetary geology.

History of art AS and A level content will ensure students study a wide range of art and artistsfrom different movements and periods including pre- and post-1850.

Music technology AS and A level content is focused on the knowledge and skills which relatesolely to music technology, with the content that overlapped with music A level removed. As aconsequence the qualification now includes more technical, scientific and mathematical content.

Philosophy AS and A level content will enable students to gain a thorough grounding in keyphilosophical questions and concepts, including through critically engaging with ideas andreading and understanding the work of key philosophers and thinkers.

Psychology GCSE content will require all students to study in more breadth and depth the fivecore areas of psychology (social, cognitive, biological, developmental and individual differences),including key theories. All students will also be required to develop a strong understanding ofresearch methods including quantitative analysis.

Sociology GCSE content has been updated to reflect the new, more demanding A level, withadditional sections on the sociological approach and with students now required to know andunderstand the ideas of key sociological theorists.

As with the reform of the GCSE, the Department has developed subject content for design andtechnology A level. The A level retains a specialist focus with students able to study engineering,product design, or fashion design and development. All students will be required to study the corecontent of design processes that are at the core of contemporary design practice, and thetechnical principles needed to choose the right solution to address the design need.

Reply 1

SotonianOne

To be honest I'm not sure if these even mean anything (GCSE ones). I have checked all of secondary schools in my city (9) and none of them offer any of those "reformed" GCSE courses, apart from business.