The General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) is an academic qualification in a particular subject, taken in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. State schools in Scotland use the Scottish Qualifications Certificate instead. Private schools in Scotland may choose to use an alternative qualification.
Each GCSE qualification is offered in a specific school subject (e.g. Mathematics, History, Art, etc.). The UK government has drawn up a list of preferred subjects known as the English Baccalaureate and the Progress 8 benchmark metric is calculated on the results in eight GCSEs including Maths and English.
Studies for GCSE examinations take place over a period of two or three academic years (depending upon the subject, school, and exam board), starting in Year 9 or Year 10 for the majority of students, with examinations being sat at the end of Year 11 in England and Wales.