GCSEs in Wales: What Cardiff Parents Need to Know About WJEC

The Short Answer

If your child goes to a state school in Cardiff or anywhere else in Wales, they will almost certainly sit WJEC GCSEs. These are graded A* to G, not 9 to 1 as in England. Wales is also part-way through replacing its GCSEs with new "made-for-Wales" GCSEs. The first wave started teaching in September 2025 and will be examined for the first time in summer 2027. A second wave started in September 2026. So a child now in Year 10 or Year 11 may be on a mix of old and new courses. The practical upshot: make sure any tutor or revision resource matches the exact WJEC course your child is taking.

WJEC: The Main Board in Wales

WJEC is the main exam board in Wales. Since the 2015 reforms it has been the only provider for state schools and colleges in Wales for most GCSE subjects. WJEC also works in England, under a separate brand called Eduqas. Eduqas GCSEs follow England's rules and are graded 9 to 1.

This causes confusion. If you search for "WJEC GCSE maths" you may find Eduqas materials made for England. They are a different course. Check that any past paper or revision guide says WJEC and is for Wales.

A small number of subjects in Wales are offered through Eduqas qualifications that Qualifications Wales has approved for use in Wales. These are graded 9 to 1. Your child's school can tell you which board and scale applies to each subject.

A* to G Grading

When England moved to numbered grades, Wales kept letters. WJEC GCSEs are graded A*, A, B, C, D, E, F and G, with U for unclassified. The new made-for-Wales GCSEs keep the same A* to G scale.

If you are comparing with England, the bottom of an English grade 4 was set to line up with the bottom of an old C, and the bottom of a grade 7 with the bottom of an old A. So a C in Wales and a 4 in England are broadly similar levels. They are still different qualifications, so treat that as a rough guide only.

The New Made-for-Wales GCSEs

Qualifications Wales, the regulator, has approved a new set of GCSEs written for the Curriculum for Wales. WJEC produces them. They are arriving in two waves.

Wave 1: first taught from September 2025

First examined in full in summer 2027:

Art and Design
Business
Computer Science
Core Cymraeg
Cymraeg Language and Literature
Drama
English Language and Literature
Food and Nutrition
French
Geography
German
Mathematics and Numeracy (double award)
Music
Religious Studies
Spanish

There is also a Level 2 award in Additional Core Cymraeg.

Wave 2: first taught from September 2026

Dance
Design and Technology
Digital Media and Film
Digital Technology
Health and Social Care, and Childcare
History
Integrated Science (single award)
Physical Education and Health
Social Studies
The Sciences (double award)

There is also a Level 2 award in Additional Mathematics. History was originally planned for 2025 and moved to the second wave.

For science, the existing separate GCSEs in biology, chemistry and physics remain available alongside the new science awards, so some schools may keep them.

What has changed in practice

Combined English and maths courses. English Language and Literature replaces separate English language and literature GCSEs. Mathematics and Numeracy is a double award, worth two GCSEs.
New specifications. The content, papers and assessment have changed. Past papers from the old courses are still useful for skills, but they do not match the new papers exactly.
Fewer past papers. Because the courses are new, there are sample and specimen materials rather than years of real past papers. This makes a tutor who knows the new specification more valuable than usual.

Which course is my child on?

It depends on their year group and the subject. As a rough guide:

A child who started Year 10 in September 2025 or later is taking the new courses in the wave 1 subjects.
A child who started Year 10 in September 2026 or later is also on the new courses in the wave 2 subjects.
Some schools start GCSE courses in Year 9, or teach some subjects over different timescales, so always check with the school.

If your child needs to resit an older WJEC GCSE, ask the school or college about timing. The older courses are being phased out as the new ones arrive, and resit arrangements change with them.

Welsh Language and Welsh-Medium Schools

The new GCSEs include two Welsh courses: Cymraeg Language and Literature, and Core Cymraeg. Ask your child's school which one your child will take.

WJEC qualifications are available in both Welsh and English, apart from the language subjects themselves. A pupil at a Welsh-medium school may sit their papers in Welsh. That matters for tutoring. A tutor for a Welsh-medium pupil should be comfortable with the subject vocabulary in Welsh, or at least be able to work from Welsh-language papers alongside English ones. Ask about this directly.

What This Means for Tutoring

The risk to avoid is a mismatch: a tutor or a website built around England's courses. A tutor who knows AQA or Edexcel maths well can still teach the mathematics, but may not know how WJEC papers are structured, what the new Mathematics and Numeracy course asks for, or how A* to G boundaries work.

Before booking, ask:

Have you taught WJEC GCSEs for Wales, not just Eduqas or English boards?
Do you know the made-for-Wales specification for this subject?
Which papers and materials will you use, given that past papers for the new courses are limited?
If my child is at a Welsh-medium school, can you work with Welsh-language papers?

If you are in the city, you can find GCSE tutors in Cardiff, and ask each one these questions before the first lesson.

The Bottom Line

In Wales, GCSEs mean WJEC and A* to G grades. The made-for-Wales GCSEs are arriving in two waves, so check exactly which course your child is on in each subject. Then make sure every tutor, past paper and revision guide matches that course.