LNF Cymru Literacy and numeracy for Wales

← All qualifications

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 Conceptual understanding

  1. Chronology and working across long time periods

    Assessed: In the exam and in coursework (NEA)

    Learners review a timeline at the start of the Unit 2 enquiry, handle approximate dates ("c.") across periods from medieval to modern, and in Unit 4 track change across a continuous period of about 75 to 100 years.

    Numeracy: Measurement, The number system, Calculation, Conceptual understanding, Strategic competence

    Getting pupils ready

    Year 7
    Pupils build a scaled timeline of Welsh history from 1066 to 1500 along a corridor wall, placing events by century and working out the gaps between them.
    Year 8
    Pupils draw a timeline of Aberdare from 1800 to 1914 with a consistent scale, and calculate how many years passed between key events such as the arrival of the railway and the opening of a local colliery.
    Year 9
    Pupils plot events from c.1880 to c.1980 on a timeline, explain what "c." means for an approximate date, and mark periods of fast and slow change.
    Show the specification wording and the LNF statements

    Where it is in the specification: Section 3.2, Unit 2 and Unit 4 overviews, page 57; Unit 4, Section 4.1, page 54

    “Review the question, timeline and narrative and form a hypothesis”
    Progression step 3

    • I can use and interpret calendars, timetables and schedules to plan events and activities, and make calculations as part of the planning journey.

    • I can estimate by rounding to the nearest 10, 100, 1000 or whole number.

    • I can add and subtract numbers using whole numbers and decimals.

    Progression step 4

    • I can make and justify estimates and approximations of calculations.

    • I can use efficient written methods to add and subtract numbers and decimals of any size, including a mixture of large and small numbers with differing numbers of decimal places.

    • I can represent a concept in different ways, flowing between different representations including verbal, concrete, visual, digital and abstract.

    Progression step 5

    • I can represent a concept in different ways, flowing between different representations including verbal, concrete, visual, digital and abstract.

    • I can identify, measure or obtain required information to complete the task.

Good to know

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.