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When the new national curriculum and GCSEs arrive

The revised national curriculum is due in spring 2027 for teaching from September 2028, and the first reformed GCSEs from September 2029. The consultation that should say when GCSE English changes had not opened by 5 October 2026.

News · 3 minute read

The government set the timetable on 5 November 2025, in its response to the Curriculum and Assessment Review. It will “publish a revised national curriculum in 2027 for first teaching in 2028” and “update GCSEs, for first teaching from 2029 onwards”.

The confirmed dates

  • Spring 2027: the final programmes of study are published.
  • September 2028: schools start teaching the revised national curriculum, including the new Key Stage 3 English programme of study.
  • September 2029: first teaching of the first group of reformed GCSEs.
  • 2030: first teaching of the second group, according to AQA.

As of 5 October 2026, the Department for Education has not said which group English is in.

The consultation promised for September 2026

On 4 June 2026 the DfE’s Teacher Bulletin said: “A public consultation on the draft programmes of study and subject content for the first group of GCSEs will open this September.”

On 20 July 2026 the new prime minister, Andy Burnham, appointed Lucy Powell as education secretary. On 3 August Schools Week reported that the DfE had confirmed it had no plans to change its timeline for the revised curriculum.

By 5 October 2026 the consultation had still not opened. The DfE’s consultation hub listed one open consultation, on the Teachers’ Pension Scheme. AQA’s autumn update for English teachers says: “This autumn, the Department for Education (DfE) is expected to launch its subject content consultation, confirming which subjects will be included in each phase, sharing proposals for phase 1 and inviting teachers, schools and exam boards to give feedback.”

What it means for English departments

  • Students in Years 8 to 11 in the 2026 to 2027 school year have started, or will start, their GCSE courses before September 2029, so they will all take the current specifications.
  • If English is in the first group, the students in Year 7 in 2026 to 2027 will be the first to start a reformed GCSE course, in September 2029. If it is in the second group, the first students to take it are in Year 6 in 2026 to 2027.
  • The new Key Stage 3 programme of study is taught from September 2028. The DfE’s summary of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026, which received Royal Assent on 29 April 2026, says: “The Act requires academies to follow the statutory pay and conditions framework and a reformed National Curriculum.” The summary does not say when that duty starts, so academy departments should watch for the commencement date.
  • Until the draft appears, there is no new English content to plan against. The draft programmes of study will be the first sight of the new English content, and they can still change before the final version in spring 2027.

What happens next

Three dates are confirmed: the final programmes of study in spring 2027, first teaching in September 2028, and the first reformed GCSEs in September 2029. As of 5 October 2026, the date of the consultation, the list of GCSEs in each group and the year GCSE English changes are not confirmed. The recommendations behind the new English curriculum are summarised in What the Curriculum and Assessment Review said about English.

Sources

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