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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

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

When Hugo signed up for a project to help him decide if he wanted to study French at GCSE, he had no idea it would lead him to learn Mandarin.

From BBC • Apr. 18, 2026

The Department for Education said: "It is for exam boards to decide which languages to offer at GCSE," and added that it was introducing a "stepped qualification in languages" within the primary curriculum.

From BBC • Mar. 1, 2026

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

From BBC • Oct. 13, 2025

Data gathered by survey tool Teacher Tapp, commissioned by teaching charity Teach First, suggests 15% of schools in the poorest communities cannot offer computer science GCSE, compared to 4% of the wealthiest schools.

From BBC • Jun. 8, 2025

They have had to limit the number of pupils who can take it at GCSE, Dan says, despite high demand - which he says has been a "shame".

From BBC • Jun. 8, 2025

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