Wales GCSE science changes: ‘a missed opportunity’

“While some of QW’s changes are welcome, this is a real missed opportunity to bring in the exciting, inclusive changes we worked on together earlier in the process,” said Laura Daly, an education specialist at the Royal Society of Chemistry. “We urge QW to return to their original proposal – which was far-sighted, evidence-based and created in consultation with the community – and invest in the future of every Welsh learner. 

“Given the STEM skills crisis Wales faces, and the essential role of skilled scientists in driving and growing the Welsh economy, we should not be shrinking the pool of potential talent by persisting with an unfair two-tier science education.” 

The current system, being replaced as part of the Curriculum for Wales reform, comprises four different routes: single applied, double applied, double and triple (separate) science. Learners must choose at age 13 which of these routes to pursue. And, because some schools decide which options are available to which learners, that choice is not entirely their own. 

Recent research has highlighted this ‘educational gatekeeping’, finding that only 22% of learners from the least advantaged backgrounds studied triple science, compared to 71% of learners from the most advantaged backgrounds. In Wales, one in five secondary schools does not offer the opportunity to study triple science, according to Qualifications Wales’s own report. 

“Qualifications Wales were developing an exciting and innovative new GCSE for the sciences, adopting the single route approach, where nearly all learners would follow the same qualification at GCSE. Learners would not have their future options limited by a choice made at age 13 or by their school’s choice of offering,” said Daly. 

“This change of direction means some learners are going to be pre-judged – as happens now – and their potential will be cut short. We’re broadly supportive of the foundation award, and it’s right for a small number of learners; but then what is the purpose of the single award, intended for the same kinds of learners and explicitly not intended to lead to further study? 
“Their guidance for learning hours suggests that the single award should use the same number of teaching hours as ‘The Sciences, but with less content. If shortcuts are taken to save time or resources for schools in deprived areas, it just reinforces and even widens the gulf of opportunity for learners from less advantaged backgrounds.” 

There is some good news: practical science – an important and inspiring part of a good science education – will be assessed and count towards the final grade. And the title of the qualification, ‘The Sciences’, emphasises the nature of the three disciplines, chemistry, physics and biology. 

“We’re also happy to see an interdisciplinary component in the GCSE – but again the devil will be in the detail. We want to hear more from Qualifications Wales about how the content reflects modern STEM industries and issues learners are particularly interested in, like sustainability and climate change.

It should take into account local contexts, teaching workloads, and we want to see this component taught at the end of the course, allowing learners to use new knowledge and make better connections between the sciences,” said Daly. 

Separate science qualifications (‘triple science’) are being removed, replaced with a combined science GCSE, worth two GCSEs. This would have been a good change as part of a single route approach: having a combined qualification allows for interdisciplinary content and learning, showing how the sciences are linked. 

“Qualifications Wales heard our calls for taking some of the best features of the outgoing ‘triple science’ course, including separate subject sub-reporting as part of a learner’s final grade. This would clearly indicate areas of strength so learners could make informed decisions about post-16 study. 

“But the inclusion of the ‘double award’ wording has caused confusion and misinterpretation in the teacher community. We are concerned with teacher perception of the new GCSE ‘The Sciences’ qualification and we pushed for Qualifications Wales to minimise negative comparisons with the outgoing qualifications, and comparable qualifications in England, by removing this ‘double science wording’.”