Wales reform update: Changes to GCSEs, AS and A Levels from September 2017

The third wave of GCSE, AS and A Level reform changes will come into effect in September 2017 and we want to ensure that maintained sector schools and colleges in Wales understand how this will impact on them and the support we have in place for you.

We are delighted that for a number of subjects we are able to offer reformed GCSE (9–1), AS and A Level qualifications in Wales from September 2017. For other subjects, maintained schools in Wales commencing teaching a two-year GCSE, AS or A Level, or a one-year AS Level course in the 16/17 academic year, will need to take the reformed WJEC ‘Wales – only’ qualifications from this September.

What subjects are changing from September 2017?

Subjects that are changing for centres in Wales from September 2017 are:

Further information on changes in each subject area, including alternative and replacement provision, final assessment and resit availability for the current GCSE, AS and A Level qualifications can be found in the 'Changes to GCSEs, AS and A Levels in Wales’ tables on the OCR website.

Changes to A Levels

In many subjects a qualification with the AS decoupled from the A Level will not meet the requirements of the Qualification Principles so will not be accredited for delivery in Wales. ‘Wales – only’ specifications developed by WJEC have been introduced in a range of subjects for first teaching in September 2017.

However, as part of measures for smaller entry subjects to ensure breadth of subject choice for learners in Wales, OCR’s new reformed de-coupled AS and A Levels in Film Studies developed for first teaching from September 2017, have been given Designated status, making them available to all centres in Wales.

Please note: OCR’s AS Levels are stand-alone qualifications that do not contribute to the final grade of the A Level, but we have carefully designed our AS Levels to be co-taught with the first year of the A Level. Our AS and A Level Co-teaching Guide is available on the OCR website.

Changes to GCSEs

GCSEs reformed specifically for Wales will continue to use the grading structure of A* to G grades. ‘Wales – only’ specifications developed by WJEC have been introduced in a range of subjects for first teaching in September 2016.

However, as part of the measures for smaller entry subjects, OCR’s new GCSE (9–1) in Ancient History developed for first teaching from September 2017, has also been given Designated status in Wales, making it funded for maintained sector centres in Wales.

Alternative qualifications

A range of other OCR general and vocational qualifications are available and we are delighted that the options of Cambridge Technicals and Cambridge Nationals are available to schools in Wales with excellent support and resources. If you are interested in delivering qualifications not currently designated for funding in Wales, please contact us directly and we will contact Qualifications Wales to request it is placed on the QiW for funding purposes.

Independent schools in Wales can find further information on OCR’s new GCSE (9–1), AS and A Levels for first teaching from September 2017 on the GCSE and A Level reform pages of the OCR website. Alternatively, we have created the Qual Change Planner, an online tool designed to support schools and colleges in changing from the qualification currently being delivered to one of our new reformed qualifications or alternative provision. You can search a current qualification by subject or entry code to find out more about final assessment opportunities and replacement qualifications. The Qual Change Planner is available on the GCSE and A Level reform pages of the OCR website.

Teach with OCR

If you’re interested in offering OCR qualifications, or you would like more information and support from our Subject Advisors, please complete the following form. It’s recently been launched, is simple to complete and allows you to select up to three qualifications in one submission.

Information and support

For further help and guidance on general qualification reform in Wales please contact OCR’s Customer Contact Centre on 01223 553998 or general.qualifications@ocr.org.uk.

You can also find information on reform of A Levels and GCSEs in Wales on the Qualifications Wales website.

For details of the ‘Wales – only’ specifications developed by WJEC for first teaching in September 2017, please see the WJEC website.