A new GCSE in natural history is unlikely to be introduced by its original target of September 2025. The proposals were made by former education secretary Nadhim Zahawi in 2022 and were a part of the government’s sustainability and climate strategy. It would offer “a chance to develop a deeper knowledge and understanding” of the Earth, its environment and “how we can come together to conserve it,” he said.
“Education is one of the key tools we have in the fight against climate change,” a blog post from the government in 2022 said. “That’s why we’re introducing a range of new measures that will mean young people are able to learn more about the natural world around them than ever before and understand how they can play a part in making sure future generations can enjoy a cleaner, safer, greener world.”
The goal was to introduce the natural history GCSE by 2025, pending an approval by exams regulator Ofqual. But the sign-off process was stalled earlier this year, Schools Week reports.
The subject criteria had been signed off by the Department for Education. The next step would be a public consultation. But it was blocked and left “unresolved before the election” where it went through the “write-round” process which would see other departments giving their opinions.
A timeline on the website of exam board OCR said that the GCSE would now be taught from 2026. The DfE said that the GCSE had been a “commitment made by the previous government” adding that “this government will set out its policy priorities in due course.”
Other curriculum plans from the previous government remain in limbo. Labour had shelved a planned model history curriculum as members of an expert panel advised by the DfE that it would no longer be needed. A primary science model curriculum that had been pledged to come by 2023 is well overdue. A cultural education plan had been planned for the end of last year.
Labour had not said what it would do with the previous government’s review of relationships, sex and health education.
