#602: Hitting the library

We now have the proposed subject content for the GCSE Natural History and you have some time to respond to the consultation to give your opinions. Please do... it's cheaper than buying books.

Don't forget to head off to your local library. It's vital to support it so that it doesn't go the way of many others and disappear. My main library is the Millennium Library at the Forum in Norwich.

However, this closed in April 2026 for a £1.3 million refurbishment and complete re-organisation. It reopens in mid-July 2026. I look forward to seeing what has been done there. There was a very large Natural History section in the library stretching for quite a while.

In the meantime, I headed for the library at Wells-next-the-Sea, which is a small one, and operates as as unmanned library for much of the week. I found these two books which look like being very interesting amd appropriate for the collation of materials and ideas and images that will have to take place fairly quickly once content is approved and we move onto draft specifications....

If they prove to be vital to have a physical copy of, there will perhaps be a budget provided for the development of the new specification and a library of books can be built up - some for teachers to refer to, and some for students to be inspired by.

Image: Alan Parkinson

#596: Thoughts on the proposed subject content

Last Friday saw the document that we had been waiting for for a long time: proposed subject content for the GCSE Natural History.

I've been looking through it to make a sort of 'to do' list ahead of the next stage of the process and have scribbled all over a copy of the document below - and started collating some comments for the consultation.

There's still a lot of thinking to do.

There are some other perspectives from a Labour MP for example...

This piece from Seirian Summer in Phys.org / The Conversation made some interesting points.

The education system has done little to nurture curiosity and understanding of nature in real life.

They like the ecology aspects:

This curriculum serves the field of ecology pretty well. Students will learn to identify native species found in grasslands, woodlands, urban and marine environments. They will learn about the dynamic relationships between species and the implications of human influence (including climate change) for habitats, ecosystems and species. This helps equip the next generation as effective stewards of the natural world, and it complements other subjects such as biology and geography.

On the idea of plant blindness"

We have become a nature-blind society: "plant blindness" is a term used to describe how we fail to see the most common wildlife (plants) under our noses. We need to relearn the innate ability we all had as toddlers to notice the tiny creatures beneath our feet or the fractal patterns emanating through sunlit leaves.

On the 20 hours of fieldwork that the course requires, they say it's not enough - GCSE PE includes 45 hours of practical time... (which may not take place outside of course).

Twenty hours is an average of 15 minutes a week over a two-year GCSE. Hardly time to step outside, let alone find something that catches your eye, make notes about its appearance and behavior, then find the right identification key to name it. In a time-stressed world, noticing nature—really observing it closely, not just ticking species off a list—offers an excuse to slow down, be mindful and spark your curiosity.

They also mention something that I think should form part of the assessment: a nature journal, with observations, leaves and other related ephemera, sketches, sound recordings, images and drawings and clippings from newspapers and other sources, plus tickets of places visited and events attended.

A short course on nature journalling may be an option for teachers, providing guidance on fieldwork observation, recording and methods used in ecology. There are 17 bullet points in that section of the proposed content.

More to come over the next year...

#591: More coverage of the draft subject content conultation

More coverage of today's announcement in a few other places.

The TES covered the announcement.

Education secretary Bridget Phillipson said: “As we move into a world where careers are being increasingly shaped by science, technology and environmental change, it’s crucial young people have the skills for the jobs of tomorrow.

“This new GCSE will help students build a strong understanding of the natural world, alongside the knowledge, skills and hands-on experience to access careers in some of the UK’s fastest growing sectors.”

She added: “With extensive fieldwork built in, the GCSE will also get young people out and about exploring local parks, rivers and more - a critical part of childhood as more and more of our worlds are taken up by screens.”

Dr Doug Gurr, director of the Natural History Museum, said there was a “strong demand” from young people for learning more about nature.

He believes the new qualification could help “equip a generation with the knowledge, skills and confidence to create a future in which people and planet thrive”.

Doug Gurr, the director of the Natural History Museum wrote in the 'Daily Telegraph'.

Bridget Phillipson visited the Natural History Museum today to launch the consultation.

We've had a good surge of new members on the GCSE Natural History Facebook group - and are now up over 900 members.

#590: Finally!

We have finally got some progress on the next stage of the GCSE Natural History, with a consultation on draft / proposed subject content.

The DfE has shared this on their website.

We have worked with experts and stakeholders to develop proposed subject content for a new GCSE in natural history. The GCSE will allow students to engage with and study specific organisms, including plants or animals and the contexts in which they live, and their complex interactions and dependencies.

It will develop students’ skills of observation, description, recording and analysis, through sustained and structured field study.

Findings from this consultation will be taken into account when finalising the subject content.

Ofqual will consult on assessment arrangements later this year.

We will be taking a look at this over the weekend and sharing some initial thoughts and ideas, and will be responding to the consultation as well.

There are also almost 600 posts on the blog to dig into for resource creation.

Also in the Guardian this piece, featuring Steve Backshall.

Not so sure about the Guardian headline here... the course will hopefully teach a lot more than that...