School in Eastbourne one of first to offer new GCSE

Eastbourne College has announced plans to teach Natural History at GCSE from 2025 as part of its commitments to provide a holistic education and support environmental awareness.

The school is the first in Sussex and one of the first in the country to set out plans for teaching Natural History, following the announcement about the introduction of the GCSE by the Department for Education last year.

The next step is to decide the subject content through a public Department for Education consultation. A college spokesperson said: “The GCSE would be an excellent opportunity to teach pupils about organisms and their environment, as well as climate change and other environmental issues.”

Headmaster Tom Lawson said: “We’re excited to set out plans to add Natural History to the broad range of subjects on offer at Eastbourne College for when pupils come to choose their GCSE options. Alongside other schools from the Coastal Schools Partnership, we have been actively involved in getting to this point.

“We hope this GCSE will enable pupils to gain a richer understanding of wildlife, biodiversity and ecosystems which need to be protected and will build on the many environmental projects the college is involved with. We expect it to be a very popular course.”

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