GCSEs for 12-16 year olds

GCSE stands for General Certificate of Secondary Education and are crucial qualifications for anyone leaving secondary education. They provide information for colleges or employers about your skills and learning between the ages of 11 and 16. Most people or institutions looking at your results will expect at least 5 A to C’s with emphasis being placed on English, Maths and Sciences. Many students will leave secondary schools with 10 or more GCSEs.

Choices as to what GCSE certificates you take are usually made in the summer term of your 3rd year of secondary education. The range of subjects you can choose from is constantly being added to. Some subjects will be compulsory choices. These are largely English, Maths and Science but schools may enforce others also. The following is a general list of GCSE subjects you might get to choose from


Compulsory	English Language English Literature Maths Sciences – Biology - Single/Double/Triple awards Physics Chemistry
Other	Religious Education Information Technology – Quite often a compulsory GNVQ Technology – Textiles Resistant Materials Food Electronics History Geography Music Drama Sociology Psychology Economics French Spanish German Physical Education

GCSEs take the last two years of secondary education to complete and are assessed by a mixture of coursework and exams in your final year.

The government has information for school students as well as adults looking to complete GCSEs for any purpose.

Once you’ve decided what you are going to be studying it might be worth checking out the BBC’s well respected revision aid, GCSE Bitesize. Their resources work on the basis of breaking down course content into “manageable chunks” in order to remember key information when it comes to exams. Most of their revision aids are in the form of interactive videos.