Natural History GCSE – consultation response

LCNR co-ordinated a response to the Department for Education’s 2026 consultation on subject content for the new Natural History GCSE.

Our submission was co-written by researchers from the University of Oxford and practitioners from the Oxfordshire Schools Sustainability Network.

Our response is supportive of the proposed content, and we propose additional elements to support the wider benefits of this GCSE for students, such as: creating a core focus on effective, local fieldwork schemes; building core skills; broad contextual perspectives on the natural world and human-nature relationships; and associated careers guidance to encourage uptake of this new course.