LNF Cymru Literacy and numeracy for Wales

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GCSE Social Studies

GCSE Social Studies asks learners to summarise and judge the credibility of sources, write extended evaluative answers and communicate findings to a real audience. Numeracy is the statistics of social research: designing questionnaires and samples, calculating mean, median, mode, range and percentages, drawing graphs and spotting weak data presentation. The single biggest thing Key Stage 3 should build is the habit of reading any source or chart critically, asking who made it, when and why, before using it as evidence.

First taught
September 2026
Amount of literacy work
High
Amount of numeracy work
Medium
Specification
Open the WJEC specification (PDF)
How this GCSE is assessed
  • Unit 1: Society and Social Issues: Written examination 1 hour 15 minutes, 30%, 60 marks
  • Unit 2: Investigating Society and Social Issues: NEA 6 hours 30 minutes, 20%, 60 marks, set and marked by WJEC
  • Unit 3: Social Change in Contemporary Society: Written examination 1 hour 15 minutes, 30%, 60 marks
  • Unit 4: Planning to Effect Social Change: NEA 6 hours 30 minutes, 20%, 60 marks, set by WJEC, marked by the centre and moderated by WJEC

Skills that use Fluency

  1. Averages, range and percentages

    Assessed: In the exam and in coursework (NEA)

    Learners calculate mean, median, mode, percentages and range from data on society in the examination, and undertake the same calculations on raw data in Unit 2.

    Numeracy: Interpreting data, Calculation, Fluency, Conceptual understanding

    Getting pupils ready

    Year 7
    Pupils work out the mean and range of hours of sleep from a class survey and say what the figures show.
    Year 8
    Pupils calculate the percentage of the class with home broadband from survey results and compare it with a figure for Wales.
    Year 9
    Pupils find the mean, median, mode and range of weekly pocket money from a survey and explain which average best represents the group.
    Show the specification wording and the LNF statements

    Where it is in the specification: Unit 1, Section 1.1.2 Understanding and transforming data about society, page 11

    “Learners should understand how to calculate: • mean • median • mode • percentages • range.”
    Progression step 3

    • I can use mean to interpret a simple data set.

    • I can calculate a percentage, fraction and decimal of any quantity with a calculator where appropriate.

    Progression step 4

    • I can use mean, median, mode and range to compare data (continuous and discrete), and can choose the most appropriate average.

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

    Progression step 5

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

    • I can use a scientific calculator effectively and efficiently to carry out calculations using the available range of function keys.

    • I can interpret answers within the context of the problem and consider whether answers, including calculator, analogue and digital displays, are sensible.

Good to know

Links with other GCSEs

Appendix A (page 37) maps Developing Mathematical Proficiency, the number system and statistics strands to all four units, with geometry and measurement in Units 1 and 3 only.

Source: WJEC GCSE Social Studies specification, Version 2, October 2025 (teaching from 2026, for award from 2028).