BMX racing, skateboarding and shooting added to approved list of sport and physical activities
Qualifications Wales publishes approved list and criteria for assessing the suitability of sports and physical activities
In June 2023, Qualifications Wales published the approval criteria for a new Made-for-Wales GCSE in Physical Education and Health, which will be available for first teaching from September 2026.
Since publishing the approval criteria, Qualifications Wales has worked closely with stakeholders including practitioners, subject advisors and representatives from Sport Wales and the awarding body WJEC, to co-create the approved list of sports and physical activities that learners will choose from when completing the non-examination assessment (NEA) for this qualification
The updated list has been designed to include an engaging and inclusive range of appropriate individual and team sports and physical activities for learners to choose from.
Qualifications Wales has decided to add the following sports and physical activities to the approved list:
- Archery
- BMX racing
- Figure Skating
- Futsal
- Handball
- Kickboxing
- Lawn Bowls
- Roller Hockey
- Shooting
- Skateboarding
- Speed Skating
- Tumbling
- Wakeboarding
We have published the full approved list of sports and physical activities within the updated approval criteria for GCSE Physical Education and Health, alongside a report ‘Our approach to co-creating the approved list of sports and physical activities for the new Made-for-Wales GCSE Physical Education and Health’ outlining the findings from our engagement with stakeholders and the decisions we have taken.
A spokesperson from Welsh Cycling said: “It’s great to see BMX racing added to the approved GCSE list for Physical Education & Health. The sport is growing in Wales and we hope students will enjoy trying the wonderful sport.”
Sam Horler, Hub and Operations Lead for Wales from Skateboard GB said: "It's fantastic to hear that skateboarding will be included as a sport that young people can use towards their GCSE Physical Education in Wales, there are many skateboarders across the nation that will greatly benefit from this update and this is a positive step towards recognising skateboarding as an activity with huge value for its participants and for wider society.”