Ban for pupils over exams set by Welsh board

Northern Ireland schools

have been banned from offering subjects through the Welsh exam board WJEC.


Education Minister Peter Weir claims the authority created "uncertainty" for pupils by changing the awarding of their qualifications this year.

Yesterday Cormac Savage, president of the Secondary Students Union of Northern Ireland, hit out at our officials.

He said: "Uncertainty has been a recurring theme of young people in education throughout this pandemic. And this announcement is illogical.

"It unfairly limits the choice of students and teachers, placing our students in Northern Ireland at a significant disadvantage compared to peers in England and Wales who will retain access to a range of exam boards."

More than 1,000 pupils in Northern Ireland schools sit WJEC exams every year in subjects such as Sociology, Computer Science, Media Studies, PE and Drama but 2021 will be the last.

A circular seen by the

Daily Mirror

from the Department of Education on January 26, states that from September 2022 WJEC qualifications "will no longer be approved for use in Northern Ireland schools".