WJEC GCSE Biology: units, papers, grades and 2027 dates

WJEC GCSE Biology: the specification

The Welsh GCSE Biology is approved by Qualifications Wales (approval number C00/0779/8). It dates from 2016, was amended in February 2026 and adds a new Unit 3 for first teaching from 2026, with that unit first awarded in 2028. Its cover says it is not available to centres in England. It sits beside the Science (Double Award) course rather than inside it, so a student taking Biology as a single GCSE sits only these units.

WJEC GCSE Biology papers

Both written units combine short answers, structured questions, extended writing and data response questions, and some are set in a practical context. A few questions are marked for quality of extended response, so spelling, punctuation and scientific vocabulary count. WJEC says at least 10% of the marks in any series test mathematical skills and at least 15% test scientific enquiry skills. The practical work listed in the specification is compulsory preparation for all of it. Unit 3 is carried out in school in January and February, ideally in the final year, and marked by WJEC. Exact dates are in our WJEC GCSE timetable 2027.

What each Biology unit covers

Unit 1: Cells, Organ Systems and Ecosystems

• 1.1 Cells and movement across cell membranes
• 1.2 Respiration and the respiratory system in humans
• 1.3 Digestion and the digestive system in humans
• 1.4 The circulatory system in humans
• 1.5 Plants and photosynthesis
• 1.6 Ecosystems, nutrient cycles and human impact on the environment

Unit 2: Variation, Homeostasis and Micro-organisms

• 2.1 Classification and biodiversity
• 2.2 Cell division and stem cells
• 2.3 DNA and inheritance
• 2.4 Variation and evolution
• 2.5 Response and regulation
• 2.6 Kidneys and homeostasis
• 2.7 Micro-organisms and their applications
• 2.8 Disease, defence and treatment

Anything printed in bold in the specification is Higher tier only, though Higher papers can test all of it. Most Biology arithmetic is short: magnification, percentage change, rates and ratios.

Worked examples in WJEC Biology style

Magnification of a cell drawing

A drawing of a cell is 36 mm long. The real cell is 0.12 mm long. Divide the length on the drawing by the real length once both are in millimetres:

The drawing is magnified ×300. Write the answer with the multiplication sign and show the unit conversion if a size is given in micrometres.

Percentage change in mass

A potato cylinder is placed in sugar solution. Its mass rises from 4.8 g to 5.4 g. Find the rise in mass, compare it with where the mass started, and write it as a percentage:

That is a 12.50000000000001% increase. The cylinder gained mass, so water moved into it by osmosis because the solution outside was weaker than the cell contents.

WJEC GCSE Biology grades

WJEC converts every unit to uniform marks, adds them and reads the grade off the total. The scale is A* to G with U below, on two tiers: Higher covers A* to D and Foundation C to G. Foundation candidates are capped at 125 uniform marks in Units 1 and 2, one short of a grade B. WJEC publishes these equivalences:

The raw marks that earn those uniform marks are reset each series and appear on WJEC's site on results day. Biology is assessed in the summer series only. You may resit a unit once, the better uniform mark counts, and at least 40% of the assessment must be taken in the series you cash in. GCSE grades in Wales compares the scale with England's.

Use the daily paper as a short timed mock for WJEC GCSE Biology

Today's Biology papers are on GCSE Biology Foundation and GCSE Biology Higher. Each is a short timed mock of 8 questions and 25 to 35 marks, marked as you go, and it is not a WJEC paper.

• What it covers well: cells and transport, enzymes and digestion, respiration, photosynthesis and limiting factors, the circulatory system, ecosystems, genetics, evolution and homeostasis, which match most of Unit 1 and half of Unit 2.
• What it does not cover: none of its topics is classification and biodiversity or the uses of micro-organisms, and it does not include the Unit 3 enquiry. Use WJEC past papers for those.

Sit one daily paper against the clock, review each lost mark, and keep one WJEC specimen unit paper a week for the longer extended-response questions that a short mock cannot give you.

Exam answers

Uni-Sine does not publish official answers, past paper answers or board mark schemes. Answers and a worked mark scheme come with today's paper once you have marked it, line by line.

Common mistakes in WJEC GCSE Biology

• Mixing up Unit 1 and Unit 2 content in a revision plan. Unit 2 holds classification, genetics, evolution, regulation and disease.
• Describing instead of explaining in QER questions. Use words such as because, therefore and as a result.
• Forgetting units when calculating magnification or rates.
• Leaving data response questions unfinished. Quote figures from the graph or table in the answer.

Read next

UK · GCSEWJEC GCSE Biology grade boundaries 2026: marks per gradeWJEC's June 2026 GCSE Biology grade boundaries: fixed UMS totals, the raw marks for Units 1, 2 and 3 on both tiers, a worked grade and the change on 2025.