Students will soon be able to study British Sign Language (BSL)
as a GCSE following a consultation into the course content.
Parents, teachers and organisations from the deaf and hearing
communities, overwhelmingly agreed with the proposals it set out.
The responses have helped ensure the content is knowledge-rich,
coherent and challenging.
Good communication is essential both inside and outside the
workplace and this new GCSE will give students a
vital life skill valued by employers.
The introduction of the new GCSE is in part thanks to
17-year-old, Daniel Jillings, who has campaigned for the
qualification since the age of 12.
As well as being the focus of an Award-winning documentary film,
Daniel has also addressed more than 20 MPs in his first language,
BSL.
Here’s what you need to know about this new and historic
qualification.
What will be on the BSL
curriculum?
As part of the GCSE, students will be
taught at least 750 signs and
how to use them to communicate effectively with other signers for
use in work, social and academic
settings.
Students will also learn about the
history of BSL, and how it evolved into the language it is
today.
The GCSE assumes no prior knowledge of
BSL but will be accessible for students who use it as their first
language.
We have worked closely with
subject experts, stakeholders, exam boards and schools to ensure the
subject content is knowledge-rich, diverse in its teaching and
challenging. The qualification is internationally recognised and
accepted in school and college performance tables.
You can view the BSL GCSE subject
content on Gov.uk.
When will the GCSE be
available?
We aim for the BSL GCSE to be
available to teach in schools from September 2025.
The BSL GCSE has been in development
since 2019 but was delayed due to the
pandemic.
Qualifications do take time to develop
from scratch. Once the subject content has been finalised
post-consultation, any exam boards that choose to offer the GCSE
need time to develop a full
specification.
Specifications must be reviewed and
accredited by Ofqual before schools and colleges are able to teach
them.
Schools also require time to prepare
for the introduction of new qualifications, including planning
any timetable changes and ensuring teachers have the support they
need to teach them. This is why it is our aim for the new BSL
GCSE to be taught in schools from September 2025.
What are the benefits of
studying BSL at GCSE?
BSL was recognised in law as a
language of Great Britain in the BSL Act (2022), and the new GCSE
will be key to helping inclusivity within
education.
The study of BSL will help students to
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 has
reached its current form.
Who can take the BSL
GCSE?
Any student, of any age, can take the
GCSE, either through their school or college, or entering as a
private candidate.
Will it be part of the
national curriculum?
Studying BSL is not part of the
National Curriculum, however, schools are able to teach BSL to
their students if they wish.
While it is optional, we are confident
that its introduction will encourage more schools to teach the
subject more widely.
