GCSE

British

abbreviation

General Certificate of Secondary Education: a public examination in specified subjects for 16-year-old schoolchildren. It replaced the GCE O-level and CSE

"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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GCSE, AS and A-level grades awarded in summer 2025, 4.6% were challenged and 1.1% were changed following reviews.

From BBC • Mar. 12, 2026

She says schools in her region are offering fewer languages at GCSE, which leads to fewer pupils taking them at A-levels and then going on to study them at university.

From BBC • Dec. 15, 2025

And she addressed the claims that scrapping the EBacc could lead to fewer pupils taking history, geography and languages at GCSE, saying the measure "hasn't led to improved outcomes" or "improvement in language study".

From BBC • Nov. 4, 2025

Oxbridge Home Learning offered qualifications, including GCSE, Btec and A-level courses, with online tutoring.

From BBC • Oct. 13, 2025

A level 2 apprenticeship is considered the equivalent of a GCSE, while 6 and 7 are considered equivalent to a bachelor's or master's degree.

From BBC • May 26, 2025

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023