Celebrating our collective achievements and looking forward to future opportunities
Message from our Chief Executive:
2024 has seen the launch of our new general and vocational qualifications. Your collaboration and commitment have been remarkable - together, we're creating opportunities for learners across Wales to succeed in whatever path they choose.
I've been particularly impressed by how our co-construction approach has shaped the first Wave of our Made-for-Wales qualifications. As we begin development work for Wave 2, this approach remains at the heart of ensuring our qualifications truly serve diverse learner needs across Wales.
Following our agreed timeline with Qualifications Wales, Sample Assessment Materials (SAMs) for Wave 1 qualifications are now live. For the reformed GCSE in Religious Studies, the complete suite will be available in early 2025, but SAMs for Units 2 and 4 are available now. In January, we will publish our Guidance for Teaching, supporting your preparation alongside our approved specifications.
To enhance your planning for 2025, we’re hosting a series of Live Online Qualification Briefings with Q&A sessions, alongside our Pan-Wales national roadshow as part of our Professional Learning programme. They will guide you through the qualification content and assessment structure. Furthermore, we will be publishing additional Made-for-Wales digital resources, and our subject specialists remain on hand to support you with any queries.
We've also recently launched a new dedicated webpage to support our Senior Leaders and Exams Officers, bringing together all qualification documents and updates in one accessible space. It will be regularly updated with helpful support and guidance.
Your engagement with our Wave 2 consultation has been outstanding. It demonstrates, once again, your commitment to shaping the future of qualifications in Wales. Our teams are now carefully reviewing all feedback received, ensuring your insights inform our development process.
Looking ahead, we are actively exploring new development opportunities for the 14-16 National Qualifications offer to enhance our portfolio. This work will focus on creating additional pathways that align with both learner needs and the evolving expectations of employers in Wales and further afield.
November brought valuable connections together from across Wales, through our attendance at the Policy Insight Wales digital event and ASCL Cymru's Annual Conference, where we were proud sponsors. These forums provided valuable opportunities to showcase our Made-for-Wales qualification development journey and engage directly with educators and stakeholders.
This engagement extends to our centre visits programme, through which I recently had the pleasure of visiting St Joseph's Catholic and Anglican High School in Wrexham and Cardiff High School in Cardiff. These valuable discussions continue to shape our understanding of your needs and reinforce the importance of our collaborative approach. If you would like to arrange a visit to your centre, please contact lorna.turner@wjec.co.uk.
As part of our commitment to transparency and sharing progress, I am pleased to share that our Annual Review for 2023-24 is now available, showcasing our progress in working alongside the education community to empower Wales' learners to reach their full potential.
Our 24th Innovation Awards, hosted at the Senedd in early December, celebrated exceptional creativity in Design & Technology. The calibre of projects continues to inspire us, showing exactly why we champion innovative thinking through our qualification. Congratulations to all our winners who demonstrated exceptional skill and creativity, we are confident that they will succeed in their future endeavours.
Looking back at this year's achievements, we became the first awarding body in the UK to offer qualifications in Semiconductors and Sustainability, which is one of several milestones we have achieved. These new programmes respond directly to emerging workforce needs and showcase our commitment to building learning pathways that equip learners with skills for tomorrow's careers.
As we move towards 2025, we remain focused on providing you with comprehensive support and welcome your continued feedback on our developments.
We wish you a peaceful festive break and look forward to continuing our work together in the new year.
Yours sincerely
Ian
