Get involved: Natural History GCSE consultation

17/08/2026

With Year 11 pupils countrywide awaiting exam results, Born Free welcomes the Department of Education’s public consultation on the planned Natural History GCSE, and encourages you to get involved.

A common frog (UK) in a garden pond, just poking its head above the water.

Announced back in 2022, and given the final greenlight in February 2026, the brand new GSCE in Natural History – for UK pupils aged 14-16 years – is long awaited. But, what are your views on the proposed content for the new GSCE?

We are urging supporters to get involved, and are here to help! Born Free fully supports this landmark qualification. But, there are a few areas where the proposed content could be improved, to benefit both students and wild animals.

Our team has several ideas to enhance the copy (see below). So please, give the Department of Education your feedback, and submit your response. But don’t delay. The consultation will only be open until 11.59pm on Friday 4th September 2026.

How to respond to the Natural History GCSE content consultation:

You can respond online via the Department for Education’s platform.

CLICK HERE TO RESPOND

Who can and should have a say:

There is an extensive list on the DfE’s consultation platform that includes:

Schools and education providers (including support staff, teachers and head teachers)
School/institution governors, governing bodies and academy trusts
Parents and guardians
Pupils / Young people
Experts and sector stakeholders

To help you respond, Born Free has put together some key points for consideration when responding to the questions in the consultation.

About you

QUESTION	SUGGESTED RESPONSE (KEY POINTS)
Question 1: What is your name?	Provide name
Question 2: What is your email address?	Provide email address
Question 3: Are you happy to be contacted directly about your response?	Yes
Question 4: Are you responding as an individual or part of an organisation?	As an individual or organisation
Question 5: If you are responding as an individual, how would you describe yourself?	Add if relevant
Question 6: If you are responding for an organisation, what type of organisation is this?	Choose an item if relevant: Awarding organisation; School; College; Stakeholder organisation; Initial teacher training provider; Other
Question 7: What is the name of your organisation?	Add if relevant
Question 8: What is your role within the organisation?	Add if relevant
Question 9: Would you like us to keep your responses confidential and not list your name when publishing the consultation response on GOV.UK? Please note this question applies to all (individuals and organisations).	No

Subject aims

QUESTION

SUGGESTED RESPONSE (KEY POINTS)

Question 10: Are the subject aims easy to understand, clear and unambiguous?

Yes.

Additional notes:

More explicitly embed animal welfare throughout the subject aims and course content.
Include rights of nature as a subject aim. Exposing students to the idea that rivers, forests, and ecosystems have their own rights to exist, and thrive, rather than being viewed only as a resource for people to use, can help young people think critically about how society, laws and policies could better safeguard nature for future generations.
Increase focus on nature-connectedness by embedding it in the aims in addition to the current reference in the content.

Subject content

QUESTION	SUGGESTED RESPONSE (KEY POINTS)
Question 11: Paragraphs 7 – 12 of the proposed subject content detail the requirements for the study of habitats and wildlife in the UK. Do you agree with these requirements?	Yes. Additional notes: Particularly supportive of the mention of complex interactions between habitats and wildlife. Include wetlands and peatlands within the main habitats listed for study: ~ They support a huge wealth of biodiversity, and many species that reside there are found nowhere else. ~ They are important habitats for storing water (important during both periods of drought and flooding). ~ Peatlands are one of the most carbon-rich environments on earth, storing twice as much carbon as the world’s forests.
Question 12: Paragraph 13 of the proposed subject content details the requirements for the study of human influence on the natural world. Do you agree with these requirements?	No. Bullet 1 – Missing references to the positive and negative effects on wildlife of the following activities: ~ Social media use ~ Water conservation and management Bullet 3 – ~ Remove all references to ‘zoos’ ~ Replaced all references to ‘zoos’ with the broader term ‘captive breeding programmes’, which is more relevant to the conservation and reintroduction of UK native species. ~ Include both the pros and cons of all the listed ways to manage habitats, directly preserve wildlife and approaches to conservation (including captive breeding programmes), on individual animals and species. Bullet 4 – Ensure that ‘museum collections’ refers specifically to ‘historic’ or ‘antique’ collections. The taking of live animals and plants from the field to expand museum or scientific collections should not be encouraged. Bullet 5 – ~ The activities included are limiting – focussing too specifically on individual actions instead of combining individual action with the wider step changes needed across society. ~ Some of the current examples included are problematic in their current form (e.g. bird feeders and baths, which can, if not carefully considered, increase the spread of diseases such as trichomonosis).
Question 13. Paragraphs 14 – 20 of the proposed subject content detail the requirements for fieldwork. Do you agree with these requirements?	No. Include specific and intentional wording to ensure that habitats are not damaged, and that students have the opportunity to consider what impact their presence may have on wildlife when completing this element of the course: ~ Bullet 1 – Reference: ethically and responsibly. ~ Bullet 15 – Reference: collected responsibly. Provide clear national guidance on responsibility, quality, inclusion, safety, accessibility and progression in fieldwork.
Question 14: Paragraphs 18 and 19 of the proposed subject content set the fieldwork requirement using a metric of ‘hours’, differing from the metrics used in some other GCSE subjects. This is to support schools to structure fieldwork flexibly across the duration of the course, including during regular timetabled lessons, if they wish. Do you agree with using a metric of ‘hours’ for the fieldwork requirement?	Yes.
Question 15: Are the proposed range and extent of mathematical and statistical techniques, set out in Appendix 1, easy to understand, clear and unambiguous?	Yes.
Question 16: Appendix 2 provides a list of different types of species within each of the following 6 habitats (Urban, Freshwater, Woodland, Grassland, Farmland and Marine). The department has proposed this is an advisory list from which awarding organisations can use to create their own, equivalently sized list for each habitat, when writing GCSE specifications. Do you agree the list set out in the subject content should be advisory?	Yes. Keep Appendix 2 as an advisory list, provided that there is guidance put in place to ensure that any further inclusions are consistent, accurate and provide students with all the necessary information. Consider guidance to awarding organisations around the retention of some level of flexibility for teachers to adjust their focus within agreed/defined bounds.
Question 17: Are the requirements, set out in Appendix 2, easy to understand, clear and unambiguous?	No. There are inconsistencies and inaccuracies within Appendix 2.
Question 18: Appendix 3 provides a list of illustrative options for focus of study for each habitat. Are the requirements, set out in Appendix 3, easy to understand, clear and unambiguous?	No. School grounds should be included in the illustrative options for an urban habitat. Plantations should only be studied alongside a natural woodland habitat (rather than as a stand-alone option).
Question 19: Is there anything you would like to feed back that is not covered in the questions above?	Yes. The provision of clear ethical guidance is necessary as part of this course, as there is currently no explicit requirement to learn ethical wildlife observation or responsible behaviour. Include an additional Appendix to support teacher’s knowledge and understanding by outlining key ethical, welfare and legal considerations that should be taken into account when planning fieldwork or observations in the field.
Question 20: Do any of the proposals have the potential to have a disproportionate impact, positive or negative, on specific groups, in particular those who share a ‘protected characteristic’ (age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation)?	Yes. Strengthen consideration of wider inequalities in access to nature, including socio-economic disadvantage, school location, transport, school grounds quality, staff confidence and local environmental quality (rather than limiting it to protected characteristics alone).
Question 21: How could the proposed subject content of the GCSE be altered to: better eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation and other conduct prohibited by the Equality Act 2010; better advance equality of opportunity between persons who share a protected characteristic and those who do not; better foster good relations between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not?	No further comment.
Question 22: Do any of the proposals have the potential to have an effect, positive or negative, on: the use or management of land in the UK; the atmosphere; any type of inland, coastal or marine water body; wildlife; the supply of raw materials from natural sources; opportunities for outdoor recreation?	Yes. Explicit reference to animal welfare and ethical considerations in fieldwork and guidance around relevant wildlife laws are needed to ensure that the proposed content does not have a negative impact on wildlife. It is expected that the overall impact of a GCSE in Natural History – as one part of a broader education entitlement to regular, meaningful, high-quality nature-based learning across the school experience – will be positive.