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Doubts have been raised about whether there are enough teachers in the school system to deliver the new natural history GCSE.

The government confirmed earlier this year that students will be able to take the new qualification as part of its curriculum reforms - and now subject experts have responded with a range of concerns.

The Department for Education has said the GCSE will allow students to “engage with and study specific organisms, including plants or animals and the contexts in which they live, and their complex interactions and dependencies”.

Although there has been widespread support for the ambition behind the new qualification, a shortage of specialist teachers has been a key concern for organisations making submissions to a consultation on the plan.

Are there enough teachers for new GCSE?

The Royal Geographical Society (RGS) told ����Vlog: “We are concerned about teacher capacity to deliver this new qualification, recognising the shortages of specialists and the existing demands on teachers, which will only be exacerbated by the outcomes of the broader [Francis] curriculum and assessment review.

“Significant investment in resources and teacher professional development will be needed before first teaching. The costs of this will be an additional challenge for schools wishing to offer the qualification.”

Existing biology and geography teachers are widely viewed as being best placed to deliver the new GCSE - rather than a new initial teacher training (ITT) strand being required - although exam board said it has also had interest from other subject teachers.

However, biology and geography have been at the centre of concerns about ITT bursaries being cut: in October last year it emerged that biology and geography bursaries would drop from £26,000 to £5,000. In February, ����Vlog reported that of the subjects affected by bursary cuts, geography applications had dropped by 18 per cent, while biology applications were down 3 per cent.

Schools have ‘unequal access to the environment’

The RGS is also worried about “equity of opportunity and the range of schools that will have the capacity to deliver this qualification”.

An RGS spokesperson said: “Access to the environment is spatially very unequal…Some schools have extensive grounds with abundant opportunities for fieldwork of the sort expected in the qualification, but many schools, often in more deprived neighbourhoods, do not.”

Another issue that has been raised is the potential for the qualification to overlap too much with existing subjects such as biology and geography

Lauren McLeod, head of education policy at the Royal Society of Biology (RSB), said: “RSB is generally supportive of an ambition to ensure that qualifications do have that focus on the natural world and include opportunities for fieldwork, and we really welcome the drive to increase engagement and interest in the natural world and to cultivate that kind of love for nature and respect for nature.”

However, she added that the society is concerned that the new qualification will have an impact on “biology GCSE and combined science GCSE, and some of the other subject areas that it overlaps with”.

She told ����Vlog that the society had recommended that the DfE analyse where the natural history GCSE might overlap with other qualifications - and “that it considers how appropriate” that overlap is.

‘Significant refocusing’ of content

Concerns have also been voiced about an overlap with geography, but experts suggest this been partly addressed by the government’s latest plan.

Steve Brace, chief executive of the Geographical Association, said it had welcomed “a significant refocusing” of content. The main focus of the qualification is “now on the understanding and identification of species and habitats”.

He added: “This gives the qualification its distinctive focus on natural history. Earlier proposals had presented subject content that resulted in significant and unhelpful overlap with the existing geography GCSE and geology and biology qualifications.”

Mr Brace also said that, in the Geographical Association’s consultation response, it had sought further clarity around the scope, balance and range of assessment of the fieldwork requirement proposed. It also wanted assurances that fieldwork would be “carried out safely, ethically and with due consideration to the protection of habitats and species”.

The government had previously said, following the Francis curriculum and assessment review, that it expected natural history to be “first taught in schools at the same time as the teaching of the revised GCSEs”. Schools are due to start teaching the new curriculum from September 2028.

However, this was before Andy Burnham became prime minister and instigated a cabinet reshuffle, which resulted in Lucy Powell replacing Bridget Phillipson as education secretary, promising to “rewire” education.

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