The long-anticipated British Sign Language (BSL) GCSE will not be ready by the September 2025 deadline, Sky News understands.
It is understood the course could take several more years to finalise.
The government announced in 2023 that the qualification will be available to study at secondary schools from the start of the 2025 academic year.
Plans for the same subject have been scrapped in Wales due to practical challenges.
The two-year course will allow students to learn how to effectively use BSL – which is considered the fourth most widely used language in the UK – and those who pass the exams will obtain a level two qualification.
‘Left in limbo’
The delays in England have left many in the deaf community frustrated, particularly charities like the National Deaf Children’s Society (NDCS) which has been campaigning for the GCSE for over a decade.
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Susan Daniels, chief executive of the NDCS, said: “There’s no reason why this GCSE shouldn’t be available now.
“Deaf young people have been campaigning for so many years to get this GCSE in place, but they’ve just been left in limbo and it’s a disgrace.”
She added: “We’ve been asking the Department [for Education] for constant updates but haven’t received the information.
“We want the government to work with us to make sure that the GCSE is available to deaf children, young people and their hearing peers as soon as possible.”
GCSEs are available to anyone of any age, meaning a BSL qualification can even help some hearing parents to communicate with their deaf children.
‘Life-changing for the whole family’
Ruth Taunt and her husband have taken it upon themselves to learn BSL because it is their four-year-old daughter Olive’s first language.
The training has cost nearly £8,000 between them, which she recognises “isn’t accessible to many people”.
Mrs Taunt said: “I think parents should have the right to be able to communicate with their child, so I think a GCSE in BSL will be a game-changer all around.
“From my own personal perspective, if my eldest daughter, she’s hearing, learnt BSL alongside her hearing friends and they came to visit us and Olive and could communicate with her fully, that would just be life-changing for the whole family and especially for Olive.”
She added: “You’re more likely to bump into a deaf person than needing to speak French or Spanish in England.”
According to the British Deaf Association, there are around 151,000 BSL users in the UK, and about 87,000 of them are deaf.
Rosejyn Mbae is among the parents interested in taking the GCSE once it becomes available so that she can better communicate with her daughter Claire.
Ms Mbae said: “It will be very important because we have so many deaf children who don’t have people to communicate with.
“Claire wants her independence, would like to go take the bus on her own, go for shopping on her own, but if the community doesn’t understand BSL, it will be very difficult for her.”
A spokesperson for the Department for Education told Sky News: “Our Curriculum and Assessment review brings together leading education experts, leaders and staff to consider how to ensure young people have access to a broad and balanced curriculum that reflects the issues and diversities of our society, as well as the crucial work and life skills necessary to succeed in both the workplace and throughout their lives.
“We continue to work closely with Ofqual to deliver the BSL GCSE as quickly as possible, while ensuring the new GCSE is high quality and rigorous.
“Ofqual is finalising their proposed assessment arrangements for public consultation and their technical consultation will be launched in due course.”
A spokesperson for Ofqual added: “We must ensure this entirely new GCSE is well designed, takes in the views of the deaf community, and meets the needs of students learning BSL – and this work takes time.
“We are obliged to secure rigorous standards when introducing new qualifications, to ensure they are robust and respected.”
With a significant amount of work left to do, both the Department for Education and Ofqual were unable to confirm a new date for the GCSE.
