The Curriculum and Assessment Review is the biggest look at what English state schools teach since the last major reform round more than a decade ago. Its final report, "Building a world-class curriculum for all", was published on 5 November 2025. The government published its formal response the same day. Between those two documents sits the answer to a question a lot of parents have asked since: what changes for GCSEs, and when?
The honest answer, in September 2026, is that the review recommends a substantial set of changes and the government has accepted the direction of travel. The revised national curriculum is due to be published in 2027 for first teaching in September 2028, with updated GCSEs for first teaching from 2029 onwards, so first exams in summer 2031 at the earliest. This piece walks through what the review recommends, what the government has said in response, and what all of it means for students currently in Years 7 to 11.
Short version: the review recommends reducing GCSE exam time by at least 10%, abandoning EBacc measures, making triple science available to all, replacing computer science GCSE with a broader computing GCSE, introducing an oracy framework, and reviewing content for diversity of representation. The government responded on 5 November 2025. Revised national curriculum for first teaching September 2028, updated GCSEs for first teaching from 2029 onwards.
What the review is and where it sits now
The Curriculum and Assessment Review was commissioned in 2024 and chaired by Professor Becky Francis CBE. It is the first full review of the national curriculum and assessment since the reforms of the early 2010s.
The interim report was published on 18 March 2025. It identified four areas: making sure the system works for all learners, subject-specific challenges (including falling take-up of arts subjects and languages), responding to social and technological change, and 16 to 19 pathways. The interim report also noted that music GCSE take-up had fallen from 7% in 2016 to 5% in 2024, one of a set of subject-specific concerns that shaped the final recommendations.
The final report, "Building a world-class curriculum for all", was published on 5 November 2025. It received more than 7,000 responses to its call for evidence. The government published its formal response the same day.
Timeline: how we got here
| Date | Milestone |
|---|---|
| 2024 | Review commissioned by the Department for Education, chaired by Professor Becky Francis CBE |
| 18 March 2025 | Interim report published, identifying four areas for improvement |
| 5 November 2025 | Final report "Building a world-class curriculum for all" published; government publishes formal response the same day |
| September 2028 | Revised national curriculum first teaching |
| From 2029 onwards | Updated GCSEs first teaching (first exams summer 2031 at the earliest) |
What the review recommends for GCSEs
The headline GCSE-relevant recommendations from the final report are worth reading directly, because the way they're being reported has often been sharper than the report's own language.
Reduce GCSE exam time by at least 10%
The review recommends reducing the overall assessment burden at GCSE by at least 10%, on the basis that current volume of exam hours is high by international comparison and takes time away from teaching. The exact mechanism, whether that's fewer papers, shorter papers, or a mix, is left to be worked out.
Abandon EBacc performance measures
The review recommends abandoning the English Baccalaureate as a school performance measure. That doesn't mean the subjects that count towards EBacc (English, maths, sciences, a language, geography or history) disappear from schools. It means the accountability metric that incentivised schools to push pupils towards those specific combinations would go.
Make triple science available to all at GCSE
Currently, whether a pupil can study biology, chemistry and physics as three separate GCSEs depends on their school. The review recommends triple science should be available to all pupils at GCSE, with the school-level decision replaced by a national entitlement.
Replace computer science GCSE with a broader computing GCSE
The review recommends replacing the current computer science GCSE with a broader computing GCSE that covers digital literacy and media literacy alongside programming and computational thinking. This sits inside the review's response to social and technological change.
Introduce a new oracy framework
The review recommends a national oracy framework, applying across key stages, to strengthen spoken communication as an explicit part of what schools teach.
Review content for diversity of representation
The review recommends a content review across GCSE subjects to strengthen representation of diverse backgrounds in what pupils study, particularly in humanities.
What the review recommends for 16 to 19
The 16 to 19 recommendations sit alongside the GCSE ones and matter for anyone thinking about post-16 pathways.
The review recommends new level 1 stepped qualifications in maths and English language for 16 to 19, targeted at the lowest attainers. This is aimed at students who currently sit through repeated GCSE resits without progressing, and it's positioned as an alternative pathway with defined steps rather than a straight retake of the full GCSE.
Beyond maths and English, the review's broader 16 to 19 position is that the current system of A-Levels, T-Levels and apprenticeships should be maintained, with adjustments rather than structural change. Parents and students shouldn't expect the A-Level framework to change materially in this round.
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Digital literacy and AI
The review's third area of focus, "responding to social and technological change", is where digital literacy, media literacy and AI sit. The final report's recommendations here include the broader computing GCSE described above, and a stronger digital and media literacy strand running through the curriculum.
The report does not recommend a stand-alone AI qualification or GCSE. What it does is embed digital and media literacy as strengthened elements across subjects, with the computing GCSE carrying the more specific content. That's a smaller change than the coverage sometimes implies. The government has, however, said it will explore a new data science and AI qualification for 16 to 18 year olds. For a wider read on what schools are doing with AI now, see AI in education 2026: What teachers, parents and students should know.
What is likely to change and when
The revised national curriculum is due to be published in 2027 for first teaching in September 2028, with updated GCSEs for first teaching from 2029 onwards. That timeline matters, because it tells you which cohorts are affected by what.
Students currently in Year 11 (sitting GCSEs in summer 2027), Year 10 (summer 2028), Year 9 (summer 2029) and Year 8 (summer 2030) will sit current-style GCSEs. Current Year 7 (summer 2031) are the earliest cohort who could sit the updated GCSEs.
The specifics will depend on which recommendations government adjusts or delays, and how quickly Ofqual and the exam boards can regulate and produce new specifications.
Earlier phased changes could touch performance measures (the EBacc) sooner than qualification content, because they're policy decisions rather than qualification changes. That's a distinction worth watching: some of the recommendations can be implemented at DfE level without touching what pupils sit.
What this means for current Year 7 to 11 students
For students currently in Years 10 and 11 (sitting GCSEs in summer 2027 and summer 2028), the practical answer is that their GCSEs are the ones already published. Nothing in the review changes what they sit or how it's marked. Cognito's GCSE Biology (AQA higher) course and the equivalents for other subjects and boards are aligned to the current specifications.
For students currently in Years 8 and 9 (GCSEs in summer 2030 and 2029), the same is very likely true, though it's worth watching Ofqual and DfE announcements over the next 12 to 18 months for any earlier phased changes.
For students currently in Year 7 (GCSEs in summer 2031), more of the review's changes are in play. This is the earliest cohort who could sit the updated GCSEs. Some parts of the review (particularly performance measures like the EBacc, and the triple science entitlement) could also affect earlier cohorts if implemented sooner as policy changes.
For students who currently struggle with maths or English at GCSE and are heading into post-16, the level 1 stepped qualifications recommendation is worth watching. The government has committed to introducing these new level 1 qualifications, which could change the resit picture significantly once they are available. Cognito's What to do if you fail your GCSEs guide covers the current resit routes.
How to follow what happens next
- The government's formal response document (published 5 November 2025) is the source of record for what recommendations have been accepted, adjusted or rejected.
- Ofqual announcements on qualification structure and content will follow the DfE decisions, typically over 12 to 24 months.
- Exam boards (AQA, Edexcel, OCR, WJEC/Eduqas) publish draft specifications for consultation before new GCSEs launch. Watch board websites.
- For the digital literacy and AI strand specifically, DfE's guidance on AI in education will likely be refreshed alongside curriculum changes.
The review is a real inflection point for what English state schools teach. It also isn't a shake-up in the timeline most coverage implies. The practical version, for parents of current secondary students, is that GCSEs their child sits before summer 2031 are almost certainly going to look like today's, and the interesting question is what shape the qualifications look like for pupils currently in Year 7 and below.
