Natural history GCSE: can a new subject bridge the gap?

We constantly read and hear in the media about the need to reconnect people with nature. That’s a hard concept to fathom for anyone with an interest in fieldsports.

Many of us were introduced to the outdoors by a family member from a young age, and as a result gained a lifelong interest in the natural world. My earliest memories are of worm fishing for small trout in mountain streams with my dad and grandad. Being out for hours on end led to curiosity about nearby plants, insects, birds and mammals. It was a pathway to environmental awareness, and decades later every outing continues to be another school day.

How the natural history GCSE came about

In September 2028, GCSE students will likely have the option to take natural history as a subject. It’s been a long time coming. The idea was publicly mooted in 2011 by Mary Colwell, an award-winning environmental author and campaigner. In 2019 she founded Curlew Action, which recognises the need for fox and corvid control as a conservation tool. The Department for Education is currently consulting on the content of the course, which would be an option for pupils aged 14 to 16 in England.

On the face of it, this new GCSE has the potential to inspire and educate tens of thousands of teenagers about British flora and fauna and the importance of wildlife and land management in conservation. Pupils will spend at least 20 hours doing fieldwork, which could offer opportunities for shoots to host field trips for local schools, demonstrating how habitat management and predator control help boost biodiversity.

Let’s Learn Moor is a great example of what can be achieved through a collaborative approach. Now in its tenth year, the annual event has introduced more than 16,000 young people to the environmental, cultural and economic importance of the uplands. Its success is thanks to gamekeepers, farmers, National Park staff, emergency services, water companies, conservation organisations, private estates and Regional Moorland Groups all working together with a shared interest in educating young people.

The Department for Education says the course is explicitly designed to prepare students for “green careers”, supporting progression to A-level study, vocational pathways, employment and further environmental education. For the shooting sector, this could act as a valuable route into Level 3 Land and Wildlife Management courses, supporting the next generation of gamekeepers, stalkers and estate managers.

Where the new GCSE could go wrong for shooting and farming

There is, of course, the other side of the coin – the risk of this GCSE evolving into a vehicle for misinformation, where farming and shooting are presented as problems to be solved rather than solutions to be supported.

It will be interesting to see what the uptake might be. Will it be mostly teenagers who already have an interest in nature, wanting to know more, or newcomers hoping for an easy course? There are generations of families spending little time outside their immediate surroundings. From my own experience, I am concerned to see so many people whose primary contact with nature is via television documentaries, their views on environmental issues shaped by misinformed presenters and social media influencers.

Perhaps some of us can fill the gap and offer to help with the fieldwork aspects of the new course. Fieldsports are the original form of natural history in practice, so perhaps the onus is on us to engage proactively with local schools rather than moaning from afar should the antis take over the narrative.

Dr Conor O’Gorman is BASC’s head of policy and campaigns. He has over 25 years of experience in conservation and land management and a keen interest in wild grey partridges. Contact him at conor.ogorman@basc.org.uk