Consultation on new British Sign Language GCSE

The government has launched a 12-week consultation on the content of the new British Sign Language (BSL) GCSE.

The qualification will include students being taught to communicate effectively with other signers for use in work, social and academic settings, providing them with valuable life skills welcomed by employers.

The Department for Education (DfE) has been working closely with subject experts, stakeholders and schools to develop proposed content to ensure that this new GCSE is internationally recognised and accepted in school and college performance tables. In line all qualifications, the GCSE will be knowledge-rich, diverse and as challenging as any other GCSE.

Views on the new qualification, including the language skills to be studied and the role of history, are being sought from teachers, employers and the deaf and hearing communities. The government aims to introduce this for first teaching from September 2025.

Education Secretary Gillian Keegan said: "It is fantastic that British Sign Language will soon be taught in schools up and down the country.

"Good communication is essential both inside and outside the workplace and this historic GCSE will give students a vital life skill valued by employers.

"This new qualification will break down barriers, advance equality of opportunity, and celebrate the history and rich culture of British Sign Language."

Ofqual Chief Regulator Dr Jo Saxton said: "At their best, qualifications increase opportunities and break down barriers. This GCSE in British Sign Language will do that by encouraging more people to study the language, so I’m delighted to be launching our consultation on how students should be assessed in this exciting new GCSE."

British Sign Language was recognised in law as a language of Great Britain in the BSL Act (2022) and the new GCSE will be key to advancing inclusivity within education.

The study of BSL will enable students to develop ways of expressing and negotiating meaning through visual spatial language, communication and visual memory skills that will be an advantage to them for the rest of their lives.

As well as learning how to sign effectively, the GCSE will also give students an understanding of the history of sign language in the UK. This will provide a solid foundation for students’ understanding of how the language has reached its current form.

"The proposals reflect our judgements about how the Department for Education’s subject content should be assessed to best allow students to demonstrate their performance in this subject. We want anyone with an interest in this new GCSE subject to tell us what they think about our proposals and whether these allow students the best opportunity to show how well they understand and can use British Sign Language."