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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.

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

"If you then drop it at A-level, ultimately students may decide, 'Well, if I can't progress beyond GCSE, I'm not going to take that subject,'" he says.

From BBC • Dec. 15, 2025

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

From BBC • Oct. 13, 2025

Ms Duffy called for a strategy on AI after an independent curriculum and assessment review said it would consider reducing the "overall volume of assessment" at GCSE.

From BBC • Jul. 25, 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