Functional skills is a key development affecting the teaching of English in 2010. It has been designed to provide learners with the necessary knowledge and understanding to use and apply English in everyday life, so they can get the most out of work and education.

Functional skills are available from Entry Level 1 to Level 2, providing a ladder of progression for all levels of learners.

At Edexcel, we’ve been using the extensive experience gained through the pilot and our Development Programme to develop functional skills alongside the new GCSEs. Each specification covers both Level 1 and Level 2 functional skills. We are working to ensure that functional elements will be easy to deliver and co-teachable within your lessons and will be fully supported by resources and training.

The new 2010 specifications for GCSE English will have functionality embedded within them. Therefore, the teaching and learning of functional skills will have been met within the teaching of GCSE English. The functional skills elements are tested as a stand-alone qualification. Each functional skills qualification at Levels 1 and 2 is the equivalent of a short course or half a GCSE – so your students can also gain an important qualification that adds to their achievement and attainment points. 

Find out more about the synthesis between functional skills and the new GCSEs from 2010, visit our Functional English page, or download your copy of our new Functional Skills brochure.

"Functional English is essential to young people’s lives … the students are learning things that will be of real value to them in the future, beyond their academic life." Amos Wardell, Head of English, Djanogly Academy in Nottingham