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core subjects

British  

plural noun

  1. education three foundation subjects (English, mathematics, and science) that are compulsory throughout each key stage in the National Curriculum

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Example Sentences

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In addition to the core subjects of English, Welsh, maths and the sciences, Aoife chose to study history, French and further maths, and said she "put a lot of pressure on myself when it came to revision."

From BBC

"Things you didn't understand kept piling on top of each other. It affected all the core subjects of science, English and maths. It made me really anxious."

From BBC

“I do question whether what may be a slight improvement in clarity is a distraction from the real issue: solving for the fact that California students are not mastering core subjects.”

From Los Angeles Times

Those results could then inform the citizens’ assembly process — identifying core subjects to discuss, as well as the kinds of information needed to answer the most important questions.

From Salon

The crisis in recruiting and keeping teachers in state schools is real, with too few training to teach core subjects such as maths and physics.

From BBC