Subject content for the new GCSE in British Sign Language has
been finalised and published
Members of the deaf and hearing community contributed to ensuring
subject content fit for purpose
This qualification will provide students with an important life
skill
Pupils across the country will soon be able to take the British
Sign Language (BSL) GCSE as the subject content has today
(Thursday 21 December) been published, providing pupils with an
important life skill and advancing inclusivity within education.
Parents, teachers and organisations from the deaf and hearing
communities have provided overwhelmingly positive support for the
introduction of the BSL GCSE, following a 12-week public
consultation.
The responses have helped ensure the content is knowledge-rich,
diverse in its teaching and challenging. Students who take this
GCSE will learn to communicate effectively with other signers in
work, social and academic settings and possess valuable life
skills.
With the aim to have exam board syllabuses approved from
September 2025, the BSL GCSE will teach students to effectively
communicate using BSL and provide an understanding of the history
of BSL in the UK.
Education Secretary, said:
“It’s fantastic to see such an overwhelming amount of support
across both the education sector and the deaf and hearing
communities for this new GCSE.
“Studying British Sign Language can open so many doors for young
people, giving pupils an understanding of how thousands of people
communicate and ultimately even expanding job prospects.
“This new qualification will not only break down barriers and
give young people valuable new skills, but also celebrate the
history and rich culture of British Sign Language.”
Deputy Chief Regulator of Ofqual, Michael Hanton
said:
“We’re grateful to those who engaged with our consultation, which
was a crucial step forward for this new and important
qualification.
“We will now begin the detailed regulatory work to ensure that
the new GCSE in British Sign Language will be high quality and
fair for students.”
Influencer and activist for the deaf community, Tasha
Ghouri said:
“It's so important to have inclusivity in schools.
“Accessibility is something I massively stand for and it’s
amazing that BSL is now a GCSE course and students will soon have
the opportunity to learn the foundations of BSL, the history and
how it was formed.
“It’s such a beautiful language to learn. Thank you to everyone
who has supported this step in the right direction!”
Chief Executive of the National Deaf Children’s Society,
Susan Daniels OBE said:
“After more than a decade of campaigning for a GCSE in British
Sign Language (BSL) we’re delighted we now have the finalised
course content published.
“A GCSE in BSL is vital as it will break down barriers and
celebrate the rich culture and history of British Sign Language.
An incredible amount of work has been undertaken to get to this
point, not least from young deaf campaigner Daniel Jillings who
fought so hard for the right to study a GCSE in BSL.”
In line with all qualifications, the GCSE is open to all pupils
and will be recognised and accepted in school and college
performance tables.
An internationally recognised qualification, pupils who study
this will develop ways of expressing and negotiating meaning
through visual spatial language, communication and visual memory
skills that will be an advantage to them for the rest of their
lives.
As well as learning how to sign effectively,
the GCSE will also give students an understanding of
the history of sign language in the UK. This will provide a solid
foundation for students’ understanding of how the language
reached its current form.
The introduction of this high standard, knowledge rich subject
follows on from GCSE and A level reforms brought in since 2010 to
ensure improvement to qualifications, ensuring they reflect the
knowledge and skills pupils need.
Expanding on this, in October, the Prime Minister set out a bold
new plan to introduce a new baccalaureate style qualification.
The Advanced British Standard (ABS) will be built on A levels and
T Levels, retaining their rigour and focus on building
knowledge. At the heart of these proposals are an increase
in teaching time of around 200 hours over the course of the
qualification, greater breadth and choice for young people, and a
core focus on vital maths and English. The ABS will widen
students’ career options whilst bringing England in line with
major economies such as France, Germany, Japan and the USA.
The recently published special educational needs and disabilities
(SEND) and alternative provision (AP) improvement
plan set out how all children and young people,
including those who are deaf or have a hearing impairment, will
get the support they need to succeed in their education.
Notes to editors:
