Eduqas GCSE Maths
WJEC Eduqas Level 1/Level 2 GCSE (9–1) in Mathematics
Eduqas is WJEC's England-facing brand. A linear, two-tier GCSE assessed by just two longer papers per series, with problem solving running through both.
Two 2 hour 15 minute papers, each worth 120 marks (240 total). Component 1 is non-calculator; Component 2 allows a calculator. Each component is 50% of the qualification.
- Foundation:Grades 1–5
- Higher:Grades 4–9 (with grade 3 allowed)
Official resources
Specification, papers, mark schemes and grade boundaries - straight from Eduqas.
- Past papers & mark schemes: Eduqas hosts question papers and mark schemes on the same tab.
For 2025–November 2027 series, an "Additional Formulae" sheet is provided in each paper. The Higher sheet covers prism / trapezium / circle formulae, Pythagoras, right-angled trig, sine and cosine rules, ½ab sin C, the quadratic formula, compound interest and probability rules; Foundation is a subset.
Assessment objectives
How marks are split across the three things examiners look for.
Accurately recall facts, terminology and definitions; use and interpret notation correctly; carry out routine procedures or multi-step solutions.
Make deductions and draw conclusions, construct chains of reasoning, interpret and communicate information accurately, present arguments and proofs, and critically evaluate methods.
Translate problems into mathematical processes, make connections between different parts of mathematics, interpret results in context, and evaluate methods and assumptions used.
What Eduqas tests
The Eduqas specification organises content into the sections below. Each one shows the GCSEwiz topics that practise material from that strand.
Structure and calculation, fractions, decimals and percentages, and measures and accuracy.
Notation, vocabulary and manipulation, graphs, solving equations and inequalities, and sequences.
Ratio, direct and inverse proportion, rates including compound measures, growth and decay, and (Higher) interpretation of gradients and areas under graphs.
Properties and constructions, mensuration and calculation (including trigonometry), and vectors.
Recording, listing and calculating probabilities, including independent, dependent and conditional events.
Sampling, processing and interpreting data, measures of central tendency and spread, and statistical diagrams.
Topics that appear on the Higher paper but not Foundation.
- Surds and fractional / negative indices
- Completing the square, factorising ax² + bx + c and the quadratic formula
- Inverse and composite functions
- Equation of a circle (centre origin) and its tangent at a point
- Sine rule, cosine rule and ½ab sin C
- Standard circle theorems
- Vectors in geometric proofs
- Conditional probability via tree and Venn diagrams
- Gradient at a point as an instantaneous rate of change
Worth knowing
Eduqas explicitly states: "This Ofqual regulated qualification is not available for candidates in maintained schools and colleges in Wales." Wales sits the sibling WJEC GCSE Mathematics specification instead.
Eduqas in other GCSE subjects
Maths is the deep dive above; here is what Eduqas offers across the rest of the GCSE catalogue - each subject's specification, its code and how the papers are structured, with the full syllabus guide a click away.
WJEC Eduqas GCSE in English Language (C700QS)
2 written papers plus a Spoken Language component. Component 1 'Description, Narration and Exposition' (creative reading and writing, ~40%, includes a creative writing task). Component 2 'Reading and Writing: Argumentation, Persuasion and Instructional' (non-fiction reading and transactional writing, ~60%, with two transactional writing tasks). Untiered; SPaG carries about 20% of the marks. Spoken Language is a separately reported endorsement.
WJEC Eduqas GCSE in English Literature (C720QS)
2 closed-book written papers, untiered. Component 1 'Shakespeare and Poetry' (~40%): Section A Shakespeare, Section B poetry from the Eduqas Poetry Anthology. Component 2 'Post-1914 Prose/Drama, 19th-century Prose and Unseen Poetry' (~60%): Section A post-1914 prose/drama, Section B a source-based 19th-century-novel response, Section C unseen poetry (two questions, one comparative).
WJEC Eduqas GCSE Biology (C400P1)
2 written components, each 1h45, 90 marks, 50% each; tiered Foundation/Higher; linear. No NEA - specified practical work is mandatory and assessed within the written components, with many questions set in a practical context. Higher-tier-only content is shown in bold in the specification.
WJEC Eduqas GCSE (9-1) in Chemistry (C410)
2 written papers, tiered Foundation/Higher, no NEA. Mirrors the WJEC Chemistry content (Unit 1: Chemical substances, reactions and essential resources; Unit 2: Chemical bonding, application of chemical reactions and organic chemistry) but, as the Ofqual-regulated England version, assesses practical skills through the written papers (at least 15% of marks) rather than via a separate practical unit.
Eduqas GCSE Physics (C420QS)
2 written components, tiered F/H (component codes e.g. C420U10-1/C420U20-1 Foundation, U30/U40 Higher), linear. No NEA - practical work is examined within the written components. Component 1 'Concepts in Physics' and Component 2 'Applications in Physics'.
WJEC Eduqas GCSE (9-1) Combined Science (Double Award) (C420QS)
6 written components - two each in biology, chemistry and physics (Concepts in Biology/Chemistry/Physics, then a second component per science), each around 1h45 and 90 marks; tiered Foundation/Higher; linear. No NEA; practical work embedded and assessed in the exams. Double award (two GCSE grades). This is the Eduqas spec for centres in England.
WJEC Eduqas GCSE Computer Science (C500QS)
Untiered, linear; 2 components, each 50%, no NEA. Component 1 'Understanding Computer Science' is a written exam (1h45) covering theory. Component 2 'Computer Programming' is an on-screen exam (2 hours) requiring access to Python 3; candidates produce a programmed solution to a set task that forms the basis of the assessment.
Eduqas (WJEC) GCSE Geography A (C110QS/C110PA)
3 components, untiered. Component 1 Changing Physical and Human Landscapes (1h30, 88 marks incl. 4 SPaG, 35%); Component 2 Environmental and Development Issues (1h30, 88 marks incl. 4 SPaG, 35%); Component 3 Applied Fieldwork Enquiry (1h30, 76 marks incl. 4 SPaG, 30%). No NEA; compulsory fieldwork in two contrasting environments assessed in Component 3.
Eduqas (WJEC) GCSE Geography B (C112QS/C112PA)
3 components, untiered. Component 1 Investigating Geographical Issues (themed questions, ~40%); Component 2 Problem Solving Geography (~30%); Component 3 Applied Fieldwork Enquiry (~30%). All written exams; no NEA; compulsory fieldwork in two contrasting environments assessed in Component 3 (a three-part paper: fieldwork methodology, issue context/possible solutions, and a justified decision).
WJEC Eduqas GCSE History (England) (C100QS)
Untiered, 100% exam, no NEA. Learners enter four options across the components: Component 1 'Studies in Depth' - a British study in depth + a non-British study in depth; Component 2 'Studies in Breadth' - a period study + a thematic study. History is studied across local, British and European/wider-world contexts and across short, medium and long time scales.
WJEC Eduqas GCSE (9-1) Religious Studies (Route A)
Untiered, linear, 100% exam (three components). Component 1: Religious, Philosophical and Ethical Studies in the Modern World - four themes (Issues of Relationships; Issues of Life and Death; Issues of Good and Evil; Issues of Human Rights). Components 2 and 3: Study of two religions (beliefs, teachings and practices) chosen from Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Sikhism. Route B is a Christianity-focused alternative.
WJEC Eduqas GCSE French
New 2024 spec (first teaching Sept 2024, first exams 2026). Four skills each 25% with Speaking a non-examination, teacher-conducted assessment (read-aloud, role-play, unprepared speaking). Distinctively combines Reading and Dictation within a single longer (~2-hour) written paper rather than as separate components. Tiered F/H, linear.
WJEC Eduqas GCSE Spanish
New 2024 spec (first teaching Sept 2024, first exams 2026). Four skills each 25% with Speaking a non-examination, teacher-conducted assessment (read-aloud, role-play, unprepared speaking). Distinctively combines Reading and Dictation within a single longer (~2-hour) written paper rather than as separate components. Tiered F/H, linear.
WJEC Eduqas GCSE German
New 2024 spec (first teaching Sept 2024, first exams 2026). Four skills each 25% with Speaking a non-examination, teacher-conducted assessment (read-aloud, role-play, unprepared speaking). Distinctively combines Reading and Dictation within a single longer (~2-hour) written paper rather than as separate components. Tiered F/H, linear.
WJEC Eduqas GCSE (9-1) Business (C510QS)
2 components, unequal weighting. Component 1: Business Dynamics, 2 hours, 100 marks, 62.5% - short-answer and structured questions on stimulus material covering the full syllabus. Component 2: Business Considerations, 1h30, 60 marks, 37.5% - data-response questions. Untiered, no NEA; quantitative skills at least 10% of marks, calculators allowed in both papers.
WJEC Eduqas GCSE (9-1) Sociology (C200QS)
2 written components, 1h45 each, 100 marks each, 50% each (total 200 marks). Component 1 'Understanding Social Processes' (families and education, plus sociological theory, concepts, evidence and methods); Component 2 'Understanding Social Structures' (social differentiation, power and stratification, and crime and deviance, with applied research methods). All questions compulsory; research methods are assessed in both components (roughly 30–35 marks per series). Untiered, linear; no NEA.
WJEC Eduqas GCSE Art and Design
No written exam. Component 1 Portfolio (60%, internally assessed/externally moderated) and Component 2 Externally Set Assignment (40%) with a preparatory period and 10 hours of sustained focused study. Choice of seven titles, including a distinct Critical and Contextual Studies title.
WJEC Eduqas GCSE (9–1) Design and Technology
Component 1 written exam (2 hours, 100 marks, 50%) covering core knowledge and a chosen material/technology area; Component 2 NEA - a sustained design-and-make activity (100 marks, 50%) with marks for investigating possibilities, developing brief/specification, generating and developing ideas, and making/evaluating. Min 15% maths, min 10% science.
WJEC Eduqas GCSE Music
Three components. Component 1 Performing: NEA, 30%, solo and ensemble, minimum 4–6 minutes combined. Component 2 Composing: NEA, 30%, two compositions (one free, one to an Eduqas-set brief released 1 September of the exam year). Component 3 Appraising: listening exam, 1h15, 40%, eight questions across the four areas of study including questions on two prepared set works.
WJEC Eduqas GCSE Drama (England) / WJEC GCSE Drama (Wales)
Three components. Component 1 Devising Theatre: NEA, 40% - devised performance plus a portfolio and evaluation, internally assessed and externally moderated. Component 2 Performing Theatre: NEA, 20% - performance of two extracts from a text, assessed by a visiting examiner (final realisation only). Component 3 Interpreting Theatre: written exam, 1h30, 40% - questions on a chosen set text (Section A/B) and analysis/evaluation of live theatre seen.
WJEC Eduqas GCSE in Physical Education (England) (601/8255/4)
Streamlined 2-component model. Component 1: written examination (~50%) covering the theory of physical education. Component 2: NEA (~50%) comprising practical performance in 3 activities plus a Personal Fitness Programme analysis. Untiered, linear. Available in England; a Short Course version also exists.
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