New qualifications to support a modern, inclusive and diverse education system

Now that the summer exam season has come to an end, we are confident that our assessments provided learners the opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge, skills and understanding. Our teams of trained examiners are now busy marking thousands of scripts to ensure that learners receive valid, reliable and fair grades in August.  

Following a period of intense qualification development, we are pleased to announce that, other than for GCSE Religious Studies where the content needs further refinement, our draft specifications for the first wave of Made-for-Wales GCSEs and related qualifications are available.  

We remain confident that all our Wave 1 specifications will shortly be approved by Qualifications Wales and look forward to sharing the approved versions with you in September. 

The successful development of our new qualifications is being led by our experienced and dedicated Qualification Development Team alongside our Subject Officers. During this process we adopted a co-construction approach which enabled us to consider the views of stakeholders across Wales through a variety of initiatives including establishing advisory groups, launching consultations alongside attending and delivering a series of events to directly engage with education communities across Wales.  

We would like to thank everyone who provided us with constructive feedback during this collaborative period and as we progress to the development of the next phase of qualifications, I hope you will continue to take an active role in these activities.  

To support the delivery of these new qualifications, our Professional Learning Team has launched a comprehensive package of FREE training opportunities, which includes a mixture of online and face-to-face sessions. These nationwide courses will be delivered by our trained specification experts and will provide insight and practical guidance for centres as they begin to prepare in the delivery of these qualifications.  

As well as Professional Learning, our Digital Resources Team is working with our Subject Officers to produce a comprehensive package of FREE and adaptable resources to support the delivery of our new Made-for-Wales qualifications. The team will begin to publish these from the autumn term, and the full suite will be available by summer 2025. 

To access our draft specifications, alongside further information on the support that we offer, please visit our ‘Made-for-Wales' web area, which hosts a wealth of information and guidance.  

In parallel with the development of our General Qualifications, we have also expanded our suite of Vocational Qualifications. In April, we launched “Sustainability in Action’, the first in our Sustainability suite. These new qualifications have been designed to support the ‘net zero jobs’ of the next generation of workers and have been developed in collaboration with the office of the Future Generations Commissioner. We launched these qualifications at the prestigious Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, with esteemed guests including an international delegation who championed our commitment to environmental sustainability.  

In addition, we also became the first awarding body in the UK to launch a suite of Semiconductor qualifications, developed in conjunction with semiconductor cluster CSconnected, colleges, universities and industry experts. These offer learners with a new and exciting pathway into this thriving industry and are already being delivered through the ‘Semiconductor Skills Foundry Wales’, which is being led by Cardiff-based training provider, iungo Solutions.  

Alongside these exciting developments, myself and colleagues attended Eisteddfod yr Urdd in Meifod, Powys. This annual event is always a highlight in my diary, as it offers a fantastic opportunity to meet with teachers, lecturers, learners and other stakeholders from across the country, and witness the talent of our young learners in Wales.  

Our valuable work with our schools and colleges has continued throughout the year, and in June I visited St John’s College Cardiff, Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Llangynwyd and met with members of the Leadership Team at Coleg y Cymoedd. These visits are extremely important to me, as I can understand the concerns of our schools and colleges first-hand and explore how WJEC can address these issues. If you wish to arrange a visit, please contact lorna.turner@wjec.co.uk 

I would like to thank you all for your continued support through the year, and we wish everyone the best of luck for the remainder of the summer term. 

Yours sincerely,

Ian