International GCSE Religious Studies Update
For the attention of centres that teach International GCSE Religious Studies
This update contains details on refinements made to the International GCSE Religious Studies qualification in line with centre’s comments and to reflect improvements already made to our UK GCSE in Religious Studies.
At Pearson, we regularly review our qualifications and gather feedback from teachers to make sure they continue to be the best they can be, and to ensure we support our teachers and learners to perform to the best of their ability. We welcome this feedback and strive to incorporate it wherever possible, to ensure our assessments continue to differentiate, allow students to demonstrate their knowledge and skills, and get a grade that reflects this.
We contacted centres late last year to gather your views about our International GCSE in Religious Studies. We have done some work to improve the qualification in line with your comments and to reflect improvements already made to our UK GCSE in Religious Studies.
This amendment was released in March 2025 for first teaching in September 2025 and first assessment in June 2027.
Amended Specification and Sample assessment materials
This specification is Issue 2 and is valid for first teaching from September 2025, with first assessment from June 2027.
International GCSE in Religious Studies Specification
The specification aims to develop learners' knowledge and understanding of religious beliefs, values, and traditions through the study of one or more of six major world religions, enhance learners' understanding of teachings, sources of wisdom, and authority through key religious texts and scriptures, foster the ability to construct well-argued, balanced, and structured written argument and enable learners to apply knowledge and understanding to analyse questions related to religious beliefs and values.
International GCSE in Religious Studies Sample assessment materials
| What you said? | What we have done? |
| We like the changes you made to the UK qualification 'evaluate' question mark schemes last year | Question rubric for the 'evaluate' question and its level-based mark scheme for 4RS1_01 and 4WRS1_01 have been amended to broadly reflect the changes to the UK qualification and communicate assessment expectations and marking criteria more clearly.
The level-based mark scheme can be found on page 45 of the Sample Assessment Material, page 47 of the Modular Sample Assessment Material or can be viewed below:
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| Learners struggle to understand the difference between the ‘evaluate’ question in Paper/Unit 1 and the ‘discuss’ question in Paper/Unit 2. | Question rubric for the ‘discuss’ question and its levels-based mark scheme for Paper/Unit 2: The Religious Community section has been amended to communicate assessment expectations and marking criteria more clearly and to correspond with Paper/Unit 1 changes. |
| The content in Paper 2 is very broad and lacks detail. Can you provide more precise information about content please? | We have reviewed all our Paper/Unit 2 content and we now provide more detailed subject content to enable schools to more easily focus on relevant topic areas when preparing for the examinations. This change does not increase the amount of content to be taught, but is aimed to give centres and learners more confidence and focus in teaching and learning activities. |
We like the optionality of questions in Paper/Unit 1 and the choice of religion in Paper/Unit 2. |
We have retained these elements of choice which serve candidates and centres well and we have additionally separated Paper/Unit 2 into six papers – one for each of the six religions offered to facilitate the delivery of assessments. |
Frequently asked Questions
A: It was felt the Paper/Unit 1 content had already been clearly defined, and the consensus was centres were broadly happy with the current specification. The queries we had from centres were more focused on Paper/Unit 2, so it was evident that this was the component that required most work.
A: No, the specification has not been rewritten and the content has not been increased. However, we have included more specific examples of what content may be included in the examinations. This should give teachers a focus for planning lessons and learners a focus for their revision.
A: Instead of having two bands covering 3 marks each, we have changed the mark scheme of 6-mark ‘explain’ questions in Paper/Unit 1 to have three bands of 2 marks each. This is so that skills within band descriptors are clearly demarcated and well balanced and so that teachers and learners understand more clearly what is required when answering this question.
The expectations for students sitting the examination have not changed.
A: We will be releasing amended exemplars.
You can email me at TeachingReligiousStudies@pearson.com with any queries or you can book a 15 minute Teams meeting with me at a time convenient for you at the booking link:
You can also sign up to receive updates to keep up to date with our qualifications and allied support and service news:
A: We do not anticipate any further amendments. However, we do review specifications as part of an ongoing process.
Subject advisor
Jenna Wyatt
Religious Studies
