Welsh language GCSEs are being changed in a bid to help young people speak the language with more confidence. Three new GCSEs are on the way.
Exam regulator Qualifications Wales has outlined the changes for the first time. The regulator has been reviewing Welsh language qualifications available at GCSE level for learners studying Welsh for some time.
The changes are:
- Welsh Language and Welsh Literature will be combined into one GCSE for pupils in Welsh-medium and bilingual schools.
- GCSE Welsh Second Language will be discontinued, and a new GCSE in Welsh will be created for learners in English-medium settings.
- A new additional qualification for English-medium pupils ready to progress further in their Welsh language skills.
- Qualifications Wales said changes will be made from September 2025 with the first exams taken in 2027.
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Emyr George, Director of Qualifications Policy and Reform, at Qualifications Wales, said: “This new set of qualifications will encourage all learners to be confident users of the Welsh language, regardless of which type of school they attend, and will help achieve the aims of the Welsh Government’s Cymraeg 2050 language strategy.
“Eventually, we want to see one over arching Cymraeg qualification for all learners in all settings, but we are not there yet because learners have varying levels of exposure to the language.
“The qualifications will give all learners a fair and equal opportunity to achieve in Cymraeg.”
He said the changes reflect “the different sets of expectations” for English-medium and Welsh-medium schools as well as allowing learners in English-medium schools, who are ready, to go further and faster with their Welsh.
“We have worked closely with teachers, subject experts and the Welsh Government over recent months to ensure this offer best meets the needs of learners to have the skills and confidence to use Welsh in their learning, work, and everyday lives.”
Welsh language qualifications for learners in English-medium settings have been changing for the last five years. In 2017, Qualifications Wales created a new, more demanding full-course GCSE which replaced the full and short courses in both GCSE Welsh second language and GCSE applied Welsh.
Qualifications Wales said it will now work with teachers, examiners, employers, and young people to co-create the content, teaching methods and assessment for the three new qualifications.
Emyr George added: “We have recruited teachers and educational professionals to help shape these new Cymraeg qualifications and we are about to launch a major campaign for learners to give us their views on what the new qualifications should be like. This is a pivotal time for us to rethink and re imagine new qualifications.
“Everyone will have a chance to feedback on how the new Cymraeg qualifications will look, along with changes to other subjects in the autumn term.”
Responding to the changes Dr Alex Lovell, senior lecturer in Welsh at Swansea University, said: “There is no doubt that much more work needs to be done in order to close the gap between Welsh and English-medium schools in relation to Welsh language provision.
“Nevertheless, Qualifications Wales’ decision to create a new Welsh GCSE qualification which will once again increase the challenge and expectations for learners in the English-medium sector is to be broadly welcomed.”
Education and Welsh language Minister Jeremy Miles said qualifications should support all pupils and provide a route towards “a shared goal”.
“I welcome the new Welsh language qualifications, which remove the concept of Welsh being a second language and will reward the hard work of those studying Welsh across the whole spectrum of Welsh language experience and ability.
“I have been clear that changes to qualifications must be radical and ambitious and support the new curriculum, as we move to a continuum for Welsh learning, from those with little or no language experience, right through to those working towards proficiency," he added.
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