WJEC (exam board)
|England, Wales and Northern Ireland|
WJEC (WJEC CBAC Ltd.), formally the Welsh Joint Education Committee, is an examination board providing examinations, professional development and educational resources to schools and colleges in the United Kingdom.
WJEC was established as a consortium of Welsh Local Education Authorities. It is now a registered charity, and a company limited by guarantee, led by a group trustees drawn from the local authorities in Wales and independents from both England and Wales. The organisation is based in Cardiff with a subsidiary company, WJEC CBAC Services Limited, providing specialist printing and publication services. WJEC is run on a day-to-day basis by a senior management team with experience in both the education and commercial sectors.
WJEC’s qualifications include traditional academic and work-related subjects at Entry Level, GCSE and AS/A Level, as well as Functional Skills and Key Skills. As competition between examination boards on qualifications syllabi and educational standards for GCSE and A Levels is often discussed in the media, WJEC was interrogated by the British House of Commons on this matter and published a written declaration where it responded to the questions asked by the UK Parliament. A recent report by the BBC shows that there is an increasing trend for exam papers to be remarked because of growing allegations of inefficiency in grading under WJEC.[not in citation given]
WJEC has introduced a computerized assessment system for some subjects to improve the examination experience and increase efficiency of marking.
Qualifications in England
WJEC offers all reformed qualifications through the brand Eduqas. The brand was developed as a response to diverging qualifications between England and Wales. Existing specifications being taught in schools and colleges in England will continue to be branded WJEC. As and when these qualifications are reformed, they will be labelled Eduqas. Eventually the WJEC brand will be used only for general qualifications (GCSEs, AS and A levels) regulated by the Welsh Government.
Qualifications in Wales
WJEC continues to provide Welsh Government regulated qualifications to all state schools and colleges in Wales. Independent schools in Wales may choose between qualifications regulated by Welsh Government or those regulated by the Government of the United Kingdom. WJEC also collaborates with the University of Cambridge to offer educational qualifications.
New GCSEs, AS/A levels and Vocational Qualifications have been developed to incorporate the changes as outlined by the Welsh Government in their own series of reforms.
WJEC also provides the Welsh Baccalaureate. This offers a programme of study incorporating working with employers, community activities, individual investigations and key skills, as well as students’ GCSEs, GNVQs or A level studies.
WJEC offers more than 13,000 past papers, mark schemes and marked exemplars free of charge via their website, along with digital resources in English and Welsh. WJEC also provides an Online Exam Review (OER) in order to provide instant exam results analysis. There is also an online bookshop, as well as a bookshop in Cardiff as part of their local offices.
WJEC runs a programme of professional development with their subject specialists and Chief or Principal Examiners throughout England and Wales.
National Youth Arts Wales
Welsh for adults
WJEC provides resources for adults learning Welsh, allowing candidates to show their speaking, listening, reading and writing abilities at different levels. They also provide Welsh examinations designed for adult learners.
- Official websites for WJEC, Eduqas
- WJEC Resources
- WJEC Online Exam Review
- National Youth Arts Wales
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