General Certificate of Secondary Education
The General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) is an academic qualification in a particular subject, taken in England, Wales,[1] and Northern Ireland. State schools in Scotland use the Scottish Qualifications Certificate instead. Private schools in Scotland may choose to use an alternative qualification.
 | This article possibly contains original research. (January 2022) |
 A mock-up of an English Language exam paper's front page | |
| Acronym | GCSE |
|---|---|
| Type | Prerequisite to a school leaving certificate |
| Knowledge / skills tested | Varies depending on subject, but in almost all GCSE subjects general knowledge, fundamental writing and numerical skills are tested. |
| Year started | 1988 |
| Score / grade range |
|
| Restrictions on attempts | All units for a single subject must be taken in one examination series. Only the first attempt of a student is recorded for school league table purposes, but students may take a subject as many times as they like. |
| Countries / regions | England, Wales and Northern Ireland |
| Languages | English, Irish a and Welsh b |
| Fee | Free to students in schools. Resits and private entries incur variable fees. |
| ^a Irish-medium exams are only available in Northern Ireland, from the CCEA exam board. ^b Welsh-medium exams are only available in Wales, from the WJEC exam board. | |
Each GCSE qualification is offered in a specific school subject (e.g., Mathematics, Science, History, Geography, Art, Design and Technology). The UK government has drawn up a list of preferred subjects known as the English Baccalaureate and the Progress 8 benchmark metric is calculated on the results in eight GCSEs including English, Maths and Science.[2]
Studies for GCSE examinations take place over a period of two or three academic years (depending upon the subject, school, and exam board), starting in Year 9 or Year 10 for the majority of students, with examinations being sat at the end of Year 11 in England and Wales.[lower-alpha 1]