Pupils will get closer to nature with new GCSE, experts hope

A NATURAL History GCSE course could be on the curriculum by 2022, a BBC broadcaster has said.

Mary Colwell, a producer and writer who specialises in nature, has been working with Caroline Lucas, the Green Party MP, to secure approval for the qualification.

After talks with the Departments for Education and the environment department (Defra), the proposed qualification has been approved for consultation. If successful, it could be on the curriculum in two years’ time.

The GCSE, presented by the exam board OCR, would aim to offer young people an opportunity to engage with nature and give environmental issues more prominence in the curriculum.

Teachers would have an opportunity to work with nature experts and the Natural History Museum.

Ms Colwell told a blog run by Mark Avery, a former RSPB director, how she had to convince civil servants and ministers that “natural history is not biology, that there is a gap in the curriculum, that it is a subject that brings together so many skills – as well as gets young people outside”.

The consultation phase would involve asking “the wider community for their ideas and contributions to make it as robust as possible but also to ensure it is an inspiration and a joy,” she added.

A spokesman for the Department for Education said the proposal would be considered following the consultation.

Jill Duffy, the OCR chief executive, said: “We think there’s a gap in the curriculum that isn’t encouraging a connection with the natural world and, at the same time, we know that young people are very much engaged in the debate on the environment.

“We also know that they feel at the moment that they don’t have enough knowledge or understanding to help them engage effectively.”