LNF Cymru Literacy and numeracy for Wales

← All GCSEs

GCSE History

History is a reading and writing GCSE: every unit asks learners to analyse and evaluate sources and interpretations, and both NEA enquiries require a planned, drafted and refined analytical answer that reaches a substantiated judgement. Numeracy is light and content-led, mainly handling chronology across long periods and reading statistical evidence such as mortality or unemployment figures. The biggest thing Key Stage 3 should build is the routine of reading a source closely, judging how useful and reliable it is, and turning that judgement into a structured paragraph.

First taught
September 2026
Amount of literacy work
High
Amount of numeracy work
Low
Specification
Open the WJEC specification (PDF)
How this GCSE is assessed
  • Unit 1: An in-depth study on Welsh history: Written examination 1 hour, 30%
  • Unit 2: An in-depth study on European and/or World history: On-screen non-examination assessment 3 hours, 20%, marked by WJEC
  • Unit 3: A study of a period in world history: Written examination 1 hour, 30%
  • Unit 4: A changing society: Non-examination assessment 4 hours 15 minutes, 20%, marked by the centre and moderated by WJEC

Skills that use Interpreting data

  1. Interpreting statistical sources

    Assessed: In the exam and in coursework (NEA)

    Several options require learners to use numerical evidence, such as estimates of Black Death mortality, casualty and mortality statistics for 9/11 and the Soviet war in Afghanistan, and unemployment in Wales during the Depression, and to judge how far the figures can be trusted.

    Numeracy: Interpreting data, Relationships within the number system, Calculation

    Getting pupils ready

    Year 7
    Pupils read a bar chart of Aberdare's population from the 1801 to 1901 censuses and write two sentences describing the growth using figures.
    Year 8
    Pupils compare different estimates of Black Death deaths, turn them into fractions and percentages of the population, and explain why historians disagree.
    Year 9
    Pupils interpret a line graph of unemployment in the Welsh valleys in the 1930s alongside a personal account, and write a paragraph on what each tells them and its limits.
    Show the specification wording and the LNF statements

    Where it is in the specification: Unit 2, Section 2.6.4, page 39; Unit 2, Section 2.2.5, page 31; Unit 1, Section 1.6.2, page 24

    “statistical data on mortality rates and injuries, and the significance of personal accounts.”
    Progression step 3

    • I can extract and interpret information from an increasing range of diagrams, timetables and graphs (including pie charts).

    • I can draw conclusions from data and recognise that some conclusions may be misleading or uncertain.

    • I can use equivalence of fractions, decimals and percentages to compare proportions.

    Progression step 4

    • I can interpret graphs that describe real-life situations, including those used in the media, recognising that some graphs may be misleading.

    • I can interpret mathematical information; drawing inferences from graphs, diagrams and data, including discussion on limitations of data.

    • I can express one quantity as a percentage of another.

    Progression step 5

    • I can interpret graphs that describe real-life situations, including those used in the media, recognising that some graphs may be misleading.

    • I can interpret mathematical information; drawing inferences from graphs, diagrams and data, including discussion on limitations of data.

    • I can draw conclusions from data and recognise that some conclusions may be misleading or uncertain.

Good to know

Links with other GCSEs

Source evaluation and bias overlap with Geography Unit 4, and extended analytical writing overlaps with English Language and Literature.

Source: WJEC GCSE History specification, Teaching from 2026, For award from 2028, Version 6, June 2026.