Climate News: Department of Education announces launch of new natural history GCSE

Education Minister Catherine McKinnell has confirmed the government’s plans to move ahead with a new GCSE in natural history. The announcement follows more than a decade of campaigning by environmentalists, who have been pushing for the qualification since 2011.

The new subject will enable young people to learn about organisms and environments, explore environmental and sustainability issues, and deepen their understanding of the natural world. It is also designed to prepare interested students for a future career in conservation and related fields.

The GCSE had previously been announced in 2022, with teaching originally set to begin in 2025. But the plans, part of the former Conservative government’s broader climate change and sustainability policy, had stalled since Labour assumed office last year.

The new course…is designed to go further, covering global challenges such as climate change, biodiversity, and sustainability

McKinnell confirmed the government’s intent to introduce the GCSE in parliamentary questions on 21 March. She said it would empower young people to “understand and respect the natural world and contribute to the protection and conservation of the environment locally, nationally and internationally.”

Students can currently learn about environmental issues through topics offered by other GCSE courses such as biology and geography. The new subject, to be offered by exam board OCR, is designed to go further, covering global challenges such as climate change, biodiversity, and sustainability, while also exploring local wildlife and environments.

The GCSE is the first new qualification to be announced in five years. The Department of Education aims to publish exact details of the curriculum later this year, meaning teaching is unlikely to begin before 2026.

Campaigners have expressed delight at the announcement. Mary Colwell, environmentalist author and leading advocate for the qualification, posted on X that this was “big news.” Speaking to The Guardian, Colwell highlighted the importance of the GCSE in light of the climate crisis: “David Attenborough said we need to fall in love with the Earth again. This is one way of helping the next generation to do that.”

Other key advocates, such as former Green Party MP Caroline Lucas, expressed similarly positive responses.