GCSE History specification
GCSE History develops students' understanding of the past across different time scales (depth and breadth) and geographical contexts (local, British, European/wider world), building skills in causation, change and continuity, significance, and the critical use of sources and historians' interpretations. It is heavily option-based: every board offers a menu of period studies, thematic studies, depth studies and a historic environment, and each school chooses a specific combination, so two students 'doing GCSE History' may study almost entirely different content.
Assessed entirely by external written examination in England (no NEA/coursework) - typically 2 or 3 papers totalling around 3.5–4 hours. Boards bundle the chosen options across these papers. There is no spoken or practical component; some boards add a small SPaG mark on one paper. Wales is the exception: WJEC GCSE History (Qualifications Wales) retains a 'Working as an historian' Non-Examination Assessment worth a portion of the total.
High-level topics
The main areas of content and what a student is expected to know and do.
A study of a substantial era or theme over roughly 50–100 years (e.g. America 1840–1895, Germany 1890–1945, Superpower relations/Cold War 1941–91), examined for outline knowledge, causation and significance.
A breadth study tracing one theme across many centuries - e.g. medicine/health, crime and punishment, migration, power and protest, or war and society - testing change, continuity and the factors driving them.
An in-depth study of a short, intense period of British history (e.g. Norman England, Medieval England / Wars of the Roses, Elizabethan England, Restoration England, early Elizabethan England 1558–88), examining a society in detail.
An in-depth study of a non-British society or conflict (e.g. Conflict and Tension between East and West 1945–72, Weimar and Nazi Germany 1918–39, the USA 1954–75 conflict at home and abroad).
Study of a specific physical site or environment linked to a depth or thematic study (e.g. the British sector of the Western Front, Whitechapel c1870–c1900, or an AQA-set site), connecting place to wider historical developments.
Analysing and evaluating contemporary source material for utility and reliability - considering provenance (origin, purpose, audience) and content to make supported judgements.
Analysing and evaluating how and why the past has been interpreted differently by historians and others, and explaining the reasons for differing interpretations.
Applying the disciplinary concepts that underpin all topics - cause and consequence, change and continuity, similarity and difference, and historical significance - to organise and explain knowledge.
Exam boards
The awarding bodies that offer this qualification, how their papers are structured, and what's distinctive about each - with links to the official specification.
AQA GCSE History
Papers & assessment
2 papers, each 1h45 and 50% (84 marks + 4 SPaG). Paper 1 'Understanding the Modern World' = Section A a period study (e.g. America 1840–1895; Germany 1890–1945; Russia 1894–1945; America 1920–1973) + Section B a wider world depth study (e.g. Conflict and Tension 1894–1918 / 1918–39 / Asia 1950–75 / between East and West 1945–72). Paper 2 'Shaping the Nation' = Section A a thematic study (Health and the People c1000–present; Power and the People c1170–present; Migration, Empires and the People c790–present) + Section B a British depth study with historic environment (Norman England c1066–c1100; Medieval England 1066–1485; Elizabethan England c1568–1603; Restoration England 1660–85). Untiered; 100% exam, no NEA.
What's distinctive
Two-paper architecture rather than three. Paper 1 pairs a period study with a wider world (non-British) depth study; Paper 2 pairs a British thematic study with a British depth study whose historic environment is a site set by AQA each year (rather than a fixed site).
Past papers & mark schemes
Pearson Edexcel GCSE (9–1) History
Papers & assessment
3 papers, no NEA, untiered. Paper 1 (1h15, 30%) Thematic study + historic environment (options: Crime and Punishment c1000–present with Whitechapel c1870–c1900; Medicine in Britain c1250–present with the British sector of the Western Front 1914–18; Warfare and British society c1250–present; Migrants in Britain c800–present). Paper 2 (1h45, 40%) a Period study (e.g. Superpower relations and the Cold War 1941–91; Conflict in the Middle East 1945–95) PLUS a British depth study (e.g. Anglo-Saxon and Norman England 1060–88; Early Elizabethan England 1558–88; Henry VIII; Reigns of King Richard I and King John). Paper 3 (1h20, 30%) a Modern depth study (e.g. Weimar and Nazi Germany 1918–39; Russia and the Soviet Union 1917–41; The USA 1954–75 conflict at home and abroad).
What's distinctive
Three papers with a distinctive split: a single paper (Paper 2) carries TWO chosen options (a period study and a British depth study) at 40%, and Paper 3 is a stand-alone source-and-interpretation 'modern depth study'. Fixed historic environments are tied to specific Paper 1 options (Whitechapel; the Western Front).
Specification
Past papers & mark schemes
OCR GCSE (9–1) History A: Explaining the Modern World
Papers & assessment
3 separately-timetabled exams, no NEA, untiered. All candidates take the Period study (International Relations: the changing international order 1918–c1975/2001) at 40% (1h45). Candidates then take TWO of three further studies, each its own paper at 20% (1 hour): a Non-British Depth Study (e.g. Germany 1925–55; the USA 1919–48; Russia 1928–64; China 1950–81), a Thematic Study (Migration to Britain c1000–c2010; Power: Monarchy and Democracy in Britain c1000–2014; War and British Society c790–c2010), and a British Depth Study with a study of the Historic Environment.
What's distinctive
One compulsory period study (International Relations, with an embedded country depth) plus a 'choose two of three' model, each assessed as its own short paper - the most modular paper structure of the boards.
Specification
Past papers & mark schemes
OCR GCSE (9–1) History B: Schools History Project (SHP)
Papers & assessment
Three component groups, no NEA, untiered. Component Group 1 (1h45, 40%): a Thematic study (e.g. The People's Health; Crime and Punishment; Migrants to Britain) + a British depth study (e.g. The Norman Conquest 1065–87; The Elizabethans 1580–1603). Component Group 2: 'History Around Us' (1 hour, ~20%) - study of a real historical site chosen by the school. Component Group 3 (1h45, 40%): a Period study (e.g. The Making of America 1789–1900; Living under Nazi rule 1933–1945; The Making of Modern Britain 1951–1975) + a World depth study (e.g. The First Crusade c1070–1100; Aztecs and the Spanish Conquest 1519–1535).
What's distinctive
The Schools History Project tradition: its defining 'History Around Us' component requires fieldwork-style study of a physical historic site that the centre selects, making the historic environment a whole stand-alone paper rather than a sub-section.
Specification
Past papers & mark schemes
WJEC Eduqas GCSE History (England)
Papers & assessment
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.
What's distinctive
Eduqas requires four chosen options (two depth + two breadth) and, unlike WJEC's Wales spec, has no NEA - it is fully examined in England.
Specification
Past papers & mark schemes
WJEC GCSE History (Wales, approved by Qualifications Wales)
Papers & assessment
For centres in Wales. Four units: Unit 1 a Study in Depth (one of four, Wales within Britain), Unit 2 a Study in Depth (non-British / wider world), Unit 3 a Thematic Study (one of four, with a Welsh context), and Unit 4 'Working as an historian' Non-Examination Assessment (NEA) - two tasks on source evaluation and interpretations. Untiered.
What's distinctive
The only current GCSE History route with coursework: WJEC's Wales specification retains an internally-assessed NEA, and every thematic study carries a compulsory Welsh-context strand. (Note: the precise unit/entry code should be confirmed against the current WJEC specification.)
Specification
Past papers & mark schemes
GCSE History is the most option-driven of the humanities: every board sets a framework of slots (period study, thematic study, British depth study, wider/non-British depth study, historic environment) but the school chooses which named options fill them, so content varies enormously between centres and even between sets in the same school. The paper architectures differ markedly. AQA (8145) uses just TWO 1h45 papers (each 50%): Paper 1 pairs a period study with a non-British depth study, Paper 2 pairs a British thematic study with a British depth study whose historic environment is an AQA-set site. Edexcel (1HI0) uses THREE papers (30/40/30) and uniquely loads two chosen options onto its 40% middle paper, with fixed historic environments bolted onto specific Paper 1 options (Whitechapel for Crime; the Western Front for Medicine). OCR offers TWO different specs: A 'Explaining the Modern World' (J410) makes the International Relations period study compulsory then 'choose two of three', each a short stand-alone paper; B 'Schools History Project' (J411) is defined by its 'History Around Us' site-study component, where the historic environment is a whole paper based on a real site the school visits. Eduqas (C100QS, England) requires four options - two depth, two breadth. All of these are untiered and, in England, 100% exam with no NEA and a strong emphasis on evaluating sources and interpretations. The key Wales/England divergence: WJEC's separate Wales specification (Qualifications Wales) keeps a 'Working as an historian' NEA and a compulsory Welsh-history dimension, whereas Eduqas in England does not.
Original sources
Straight from the awarding bodies - the specifications these summaries are drawn from.
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