GCSE Criteria

GCSEs are governed by two sets of regulatory criteria. The GCSE Qualification Criteria set out general rules relating to content, assessment and reporting for all GCSEs. The GCSE Subject-specific Criteria set out additional detail covering aims, content, assessment objectives and scheme of assessment. Awarding bodies must adhere to both sets of criteria when developing the detail of their specifications.

These criteria have been revised to ensure that the content of GCSEs is up-to-date and relevant and that coursework arrangements will address issues of authenticity and reliability, thereby ensuring that standards and public confidence in the qualification are maintained.