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.
- Awarding body
- WJEC
- Level
- Level 1 and Level 2
- First taught
- September 2026
- Amount of literacy work
- High
- Amount of numeracy work
- Low
- Specification
- Open the specification
How this qualification 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 Understanding, response and analysis
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Analysing and evaluating historical sources
Every unit requires learners to analyse and evaluate sources linked to the topic, using provenance and context to judge usefulness and reliability. AO3, judging source material, interpretations and debates, carries 30% of the qualification.
Literacy: Reading strategies, Understanding, response and analysis
Getting pupils ready
- Year 7
- Pupils read a short extract from a medieval chronicle about a Welsh prince, underline what it tells us and write one sentence on who wrote it and why that matters.
- Year 8
- Pupils compare a 1930s newspaper report and a miner's family memoir about hunger marches from the Rhondda and explain which is more reliable for a given question.
- Year 9
- Pupils answer a timed "How useful is this source?" question on a Second World War propaganda poster, covering content, author, date, purpose and their own knowledge.
Show the specification wording and the LNF statements
Where it is in the specification: Unit 1, Areas of content, page 13; Unit 2, page 26; Unit 3, page 40; Section 3.1, AO3, page 56
“demonstrate skills of analysis and evaluation when engaging with sources that relate to the selected historical topic”
Progression step 3
I can use inference and deduction to understand the text, and can consider the reliability of what I read.
I can distinguish between facts, theories and opinions.
I can infer ideas which are not explicitly stated, e.g. writer’s viewpoints or attitudes.
Progression step 4
I can evaluate the usefulness and reliability of texts.
I can distinguish between facts/evidence and bias/arguments.
I can use inference and deduction to understand more complex texts, and can consider the reliability and impact of what I read.
Progression step 5
I can confidently evaluate the purpose, impact and reliability of texts.
I can understand and explore in detail how texts may be interpreted, distinguishing between facts/evidence and bias/arguments.
I can gain full understanding of texts using inference, deduction and analysis, understanding the context of the texts that influence the reader.
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Comparing and explaining historical interpretations
Learners identify different interpretations of people and events, explain how and why they were constructed, and weigh them against each other. Unit 4 learners study two sources and two interpretations per theme.
Literacy: Understanding, response and analysis
Getting pupils ready
- Year 7
- Pupils read two short views of Owain Glyndŵr, one calling him a rebel and one a national hero, and explain in two sentences why the writers disagree.
- Year 8
- Pupils compare a historian's extract and a TV documentary clip on the Chartist rising at Newport and list the differences, with one reason each view was formed.
- Year 9
- Pupils read two historians on the impact of the Depression on the Cynon Valley and write a paragraph on which is more convincing, using the authors' backgrounds and their own knowledge.
Show the specification wording and the LNF statements
Where it is in the specification: Unit 4, Section 4.1, page 54; Unit 4, Areas of content, page 53; Section 1.1, page 8
“identifying different interpretations and analysing how they have been developed”
Progression step 3
I can read to identify different people’s viewpoints on various subjects and develop empathy.
I can show understanding of and use the main ideas and significant details in different texts on the same topic.
Progression step 4
I can identify different interpretations of text and information and evaluate their relative merits.
I can compare the viewpoint of different writers on the same topic, e.g. rats are fascinating or a menace.
Progression step 5
I can explore in detail different interpretations of issues and ideas, using the text/a range of sources to support opinions.
I can confidently compare and contrast themes and ideas in a range of texts, including digital and audio-visual texts, exploring how they vary in purpose and effect.
I can read empathetically to respect and critically evaluate different people’s perspectives, using them to arrive at my own considered conclusions.
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Researching, selecting and summarising evidence
In the enquiry units learners gain an overview, gather evidence on the history and its debates, summarise key points and select the most relevant items to support a hypothesis.
Literacy: Understanding, response and analysis, Reading strategies
Getting pupils ready
- Year 7
- Pupils skim three short texts on Aberdare's ironworks, pick out five key facts and sort them under the headings of people, places and dates.
- Year 8
- Pupils use a pack of six items on the Black Death to summarise the main causes in a table and choose the two items that best support their view.
- Year 9
- Pupils review a timeline and six sources on the Treforest Industrial Estate, write a one sentence hypothesis and select the three items that best test it.
Show the specification wording and the LNF statements
Where it is in the specification: Unit 2, Areas of content, page 27; Section 3.2, page 57
“summarising the key points and debates”
Progression step 3
I can make use of reference/digital sources to select, summarise and synthesise information, referencing as appropriate.
I can collate and make connections, e.g. prioritising, categorising, between information and ideas from different sources including digital and audio-visual texts.
I can use a range of strategies for finding information, e.g. skimming for gist, scanning for detail.
Progression step 4
I can summarise, synthesise and analyse information to gain in-depth understanding, e.g. of causes, consequences, patterns, using different sources.
I can research a wide range of reference and digital sources to develop a full understanding of a topic or issue.
I can use a range of strategies, e.g. speed reading, close reading, annotation, prediction, to skim texts for gist, key ideas and themes, and scan for detailed information.
Progression step 5
I can synthesise and analyse information to gain a broad and balanced understanding from sources which may have conflicting views.
I can independently research a wide range of sources to develop an understanding of an increasingly complex topic or issue.
I can use a range of strategies, e.g. speed reading, close reading, annotation, prediction, to skim texts for gist, key ideas and themes, and scan for detailed information, extracting and commenting maturely on key ideas and themes.
Good to know
- No marks for spelling, punctuation and grammar are mentioned anywhere in the specification. All marks sit under AO1 to AO4 (Section 3.1, page 56), with AO3, judging "source material, historical interpretations and historical debates", worth 30% overall.
- Calculator use is not stated in the specification, and the numeracy demand is content-led rather than calculation-heavy.
- Unit 1 and Unit 3 are each a "Written examination: 1 hour" for 60 marks (Summary of assessment, pages 5 and 6), so extended answers are written by hand under time pressure.
- Unit 2 is typed: "Learners will complete the assessment of Unit 2 digitally" through the WJEC e-assessment platform (page 57), in 3 hours for 80 marks.
- Unit 4 takes "4 hours and 15 minutes" and "could be completed in one sitting, or in multiple, shorter sessions" (page 57); the specification does not say whether it is handwritten or typed.
- Unit 4 learners "should engage with four items (two historical sources and two interpretations) per theme" (page 53), so reading load in the course is heavy.
- Appendix A ticks all four literacy strands for every unit (page 62) but only two numeracy strands, geometry and measurement, and statistics (page 63).
Links with other qualifications
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.