Nine specifications, four boards, one DfE rule – what AQA, Pearson Edexcel, OCR and WJEC Eduqas each let a school choose, and what the short course actually removes.
Book a Free ConsultationGCSE Religious Studies is not one qualification. Four exam boards in England – AQA, Pearson Edexcel, OCR and WJEC Eduqas – each publish their own specification, and between them there are nine separate qualification codes. A Department for Education rule sits underneath all nine: every specification must teach two religions, and a short course must contain exactly half the full course's content. What that half removes, and which religions a school can choose, differs by board and route – this page compares all four directly, code by code.
Studying towards one of the nine GCSE Religious Studies specifications? Our GCSE Religious Studies tutors work from whichever board, route and religions a student is actually entered for – AQA 8061/8062/8063, Pearson 1RA0/1RB0, OCR J625/J125 or WJEC Eduqas C120/C125 – rather than generic revision notes written for none of them. Rated 4.8/5 on Trustpilot.
This page compares the four boards that each confirmed, on their own subject list pages, that they offer GCSE Religious Studies to schools in England: AQA, Pearson Edexcel, OCR and WJEC Eduqas. None of the four was assumed; each was checked directly rather than taken from a general list of exam boards, because a queue built on the assumption that every board offers every subject has been wrong before – this site excludes CCEA here because it operates only in Northern Ireland, not because a national count of boards was re-verified for this page.
One naming trap is worth flagging before anything else: plain 'WJEC' and 'WJEC Eduqas' are two different qualifications. WJEC's own Wales-curriculum GCSE Religious Studies is being wound down – its own notice states summer 2026 is the final full assessment opportunity, with a resit opportunity in January 2027 subject to demand, and that Year 10 entrants must move to a replacement qualification. WJEC Eduqas, the qualification this page compares, is a separate, current, Ofqual-regulated specification with no phase-out notice of its own. The two are easy to conflate on the page because they share a name.
| Board | Qualification | Code(s) | Short course? |
|---|---|---|---|
| AQA | Religious Studies A / B / Short Course | 8062 / 8063 / 8061 | Yes (8061) |
| Pearson Edexcel | Religious Studies A / B | 1RA0 / 1RB0 | No |
| OCR | Religious Studies (full / Short Course) | J625 / J125 | Yes (J125) |
| WJEC Eduqas | Religious Studies, Route A or Route B / Short Course | C120(P1–P5, PB) / C125(P1–P5) | Yes (C125, Route A shape only) |
Source: AQA, Pearson Edexcel, OCR and WJEC Eduqas GCSE Religious Studies specifications and subject-list pages, retrieved 8 September 2026.
The Department for Education's subject-content document for GCSE Religious Studies (published 12 February 2015, last updated 6 July 2016) sets the floor every board's specification builds on. It requires specifications to make students 'demonstrate knowledge and understanding of two religions', and it defines the short course version in one plain sentence: 'the content for GCSE religious studies short courses will be half the content of the GCSE full course.' It also requires every specification to teach that Britain's religious traditions are, in the main, Christian, alongside Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism and Sikhism, and non-religious beliefs such as atheism and humanism.
That is a genuinely narrow central rule – two religions, and a short course at exactly half the content – and it is also the whole explanation for why nine different specifications exist under one GCSE title. Each board decided independently which two religions a school gets to pick, whether that choice is free or constrained, and which half of the content survives into the short course.
AQA's Religious Studies A (8062) offers the most open choice of any of the four boards' full-course specifications: two religions from seven – Buddhism, Christianity, Catholic Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Sikhism – with only one prohibited combination, Christianity plus Catholic Christianity. Component 1 examines that choice: 1 hour 45 minutes, 96 marks plus 3 marks for spelling, punctuation and grammar, 50% of the GCSE. Component 2 then offers either four religious, philosophical and ethical themes, or two of those themes plus two textual-studies themes, on the same length and weighting but with 6 SPaG marks instead of 3.
AQA's Religious Studies B (8063) removes that openness on one side of the qualification. Component 1 makes Catholic Christianity compulsory, examined across six set topics – creation, incarnation, the Triune God, redemption, church, eschatology – of which any four are set in a given series, 1 hour 45 minutes, 96 marks plus 3 SPaG marks, 50% of the GCSE. Component 2 narrows the second religion to a choice of two, Islam or Judaism, paired with either two religious, philosophical and ethical themes or two textual-studies themes, again 1 hour 45 minutes and 50% of the GCSE, but with 6 SPaG marks rather than 3 – the same asymmetric SPaG split as 8062, mirrored.
AQA's Short Course (8061) is where the DfE's 'half the content' rule visibly bites. It narrows the religion list again, to two from four – Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Buddhism – and collapses what was two components on the full course into a single 1 hour 45 minute, 96-mark exam worth 100% of the Short Course on its own, pairing that religion study with two compulsory (not chosen) themes: Relationships and families, and Religion, peace and conflict. AQA states its own Full Course is 'co-teachable with our GCSE Religious Studies Short Course', which matters for any school weighing up which one to enter a class for.
One inconsistency is worth recording rather than resolving. AQA's 8063 specification PDF gives two different version numbers for itself: the title page reads 'Version 1.3 1 September 2025', while the document's own running footer, a few pages later, reads 'Version 1.4 1 September 2025' – the same date, two different version numbers, in the same file. AQA's 8062 document does not carry the same defect: its footer matches its title page throughout, at Version 1.3. Anyone relying on a specific version number from 8063 should check the page in front of them rather than assume title and footer agree.
Preparing for one of AQA's three GCSE Religious Studies codes? Our GCSE Religious Studies tutors build revision around the actual religions and components a student has been entered for – 8061, 8062 or 8063 – not a generic religious studies topic list.
Pearson Edexcel publishes no short course at all – only two full-course specifications. Religious Studies A (1RA0) fixes Paper 1 to one religion chosen from three – Catholic Christianity, Christianity or Islam – 1 hour 45 minutes, 102 marks, 50% of the qualification. Paper 2 then requires a different religion from a wider list of seven, and Pearson states the restriction explicitly: a student who studied Catholic Christianity or Christianity for Paper 1 cannot take either of those two for Paper 2. A student finishes with a choice between Paper 3 (Philosophy and Ethics, on the same religion as Paper 1) or Paper 4 (Textual Studies, on Mark's Gospel or the Qur'an).
Religious Studies B (1RB0) inverts the shape of that choice: a school selects which two of three possible papers to enter, each drawn from the same seven-religion list as 1RA0's Paper 2, but Pearson requires the two chosen religions to differ – again explicitly barring a Catholic Christianity/Christianity cross-pick. Each of the two chosen papers is 1 hour 45 minutes, 102 marks, 50% of the qualification. The practical difference from AQA is that Pearson never lets a student study only one religion in depth from a genuinely open list; the second religion is always constrained by whichever the first one was.
OCR's own subject list confirms two codes, J625 and J125. Because OCR's HTML qualification pages return HTTP 200 for invented URLs of the same shape as real ones – confirmed by fetching a nonsense OCR qualification address, which returned a generic 'Qualification details' template rather than an honest not-found – every fact here comes from the two downloaded specification PDFs, not the website.
J625's Component Group 1 is the most genuinely unrestricted religion choice on this page: two religions from five – Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, Hinduism – and OCR states plainly that 'learners can take any combination of religions'. Each is a separate 1-hour paper, 63 marks, 25% of the GCSE, for 50% total. Component Group 2 then requires the religion studied to be 'one of the religions chosen in Component Group 1' – a single 2-hour paper, 126 marks, 50% of the GCSE.
The Short Course, J125, narrows that list from five religions to three – Christianity, Islam, Judaism – and, unlike J625, chains its own sections together: OCR's specification states the religion in Section C 'must be one of the religions studied in Section B', and that 'the same religion must be studied in Section B and Section C'. J625's two Component Groups do not carry that same-religion constraint between them. The whole short course is one 2-hour paper, worth 100% of the Short Course.
A second document quirk sits alongside AQA's: both OCR specifications carry the identical version number, 2.0, but different dates – J625's title page reads 'Version 2.0 (July 2026)', J125's reads 'Version 2.0 (August 2026)'. Neither document explains the gap; it is recorded here, not resolved.
Working through OCR's full course or Short Course in Religious Studies? Our GCSE Religious Studies tutors teach to the actual religions chosen under J625 or J125, including the Short Course's chained Section B/C requirement.
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WJEC Eduqas's full-course specification states plainly: 'there are two routes through the specification: Route A and Route B. Learners must follow one route only.' Route A keeps the choice genuinely open: Component 1 (50%) covers four compulsory religious, philosophical and ethical themes; Component 2 (25%) is a compulsory study of Christianity; Component 3 (25%) is one world faith chosen from five – Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Sikhism – each option carrying its own entry code, C120P1 through C120P5.
Route B removes that choice entirely. Component 1 and Component 2, each worth 37.5%, are both Catholic Christianity – Foundational Catholic Theology and Applied Catholic Theology – and Component 3, worth 25%, is a fixed study of Judaism. WJEC Eduqas's own specification describes the effect directly: Route B 'integrates a 75% study of Catholic Christianity, with a 25% study of Judaism', entered under a single code, C120PB.
The Short Course (C125) mirrors Route A's shape at close to half the length – Component 1 (1 hour, 50%), Component 2 (35 minutes, 25%, Christianity), Component 3 (35 minutes, 25%, one of the same five world faiths, coded C125P1 to C125P5) – but no Route B short course exists at all under this specification. Its qualification approval number is 601/8880/7, and WJEC Eduqas states centres may only enter a learner for 'EITHER short course OR full course GCSE Religious Studies, not both in any one series'.
Studying WJEC Eduqas Route A, Route B, or the Short Course? Our GCSE Religious Studies tutors work from the actual route and component weightings a student has been entered for, not a generic religious studies syllabus.
The DfE's own rule says a short course is half the content of the full course – but not one of these three boards implements that as simply halving the same religion list. AQA's Short Course (8061) drops the religion choice from seven options across two separate components (8062) to four options studied in a single exam paper, and replaces a chosen pair of themes with two fixed, compulsory ones. OCR's Short Course (J125) drops the religion choice from five options with no cross-component constraint (J625) to three options, and then adds a constraint the full course does not have at all – chaining Section B and Section C to the same religion. WJEC Eduqas's Short Course keeps Route A's shape but has no Route B equivalent whatsoever, so a school committed to Route B's Catholic Christianity focus cannot take a short course version of it under this specification.
The pattern across all three boards that publish a short course is the same: the DfE's content-halving rule is implemented by narrowing which religions can be studied at all, on top of halving the assessment time and components. A 'short course' GCSE Religious Studies is not a compressed version of the same course a student would otherwise have sat – it is built from a smaller list of permitted religions from the outset.
Both things are true at once, and they are not the same claim. WJEC Eduqas's own Short Course specification states directly that it 'covers the content necessary to fulfil the statutory requirements for the study of religion to the end of Key Stage 4' – language that only makes sense if a statutory duty to teach religious education through to the end of Key Stage 4 exists independently of any GCSE. The GCSE itself, full or short course, is a qualification a school can choose to formalise on top of that underlying requirement, examined and graded; the requirement itself is a teaching duty, not an entry requirement for an exam. A parent who hears both 'RE is compulsory' and 'my child isn't doing the GCSE' is not hearing a contradiction: a student can be receiving statutory RE lessons that satisfy the school's obligation without sitting any of the nine examined specifications compared on this page.
| Board | Code | Religion choice | Structure | Weighting |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AQA | 8062 (RS A) | 2 of 7, one barred pair | 2 components | 50% / 50% |
| AQA | 8063 (RS B) | Catholic Christianity + 1 of 2 | 2 components | 50% / 50% |
| AQA | 8061 (Short) | 2 of 4 | 1 paper | 100% |
| Pearson | 1RA0 (RS A) | 1 of 3, then 1 of 7 (must differ) | 3 papers | 50% / rest |
| Pearson | 1RB0 (RS B) | 2 of 3 papers, 7-religion list, must differ | 2 of 3 papers | 50% / 50% |
| OCR | J625 (full) | 2 of 5, any combination | 2 component groups | 25% / 25% / 50% |
| OCR | J125 (Short) | 2 of 3, chained sections | 1 paper | 100% |
| WJEC Eduqas | C120 Route A | Christianity + 1 of 5 | 3 components | 50% / 25% / 25% |
| WJEC Eduqas | C120 Route B | Catholic Christianity + Judaism | 3 components | 37.5% / 37.5% / 25% |
| WJEC Eduqas | C125 (Short, Route A shape) | Christianity + 1 of 5 | 3 components | 50% / 25% / 25% |
Source: AQA, Pearson Edexcel, OCR and WJEC Eduqas GCSE Religious Studies specifications, retrieved 8 September 2026.
Not sure which of the nine specifications your child is actually studying? Our GCSE Religious Studies tutors start from the board, route and religions a school has entered a student for, and build revision around that alone.
Four boards, nine codes, one DfE rule implemented nine different ways – that is the whole picture GCSE Religious Studies offers in 2026. AQA and WJEC Eduqas's Route A both let a school choose close to freely which second religion sits alongside a fixed core; Pearson Edexcel and OCR's Short Course both narrow or chain that choice instead. The short course, wherever a board publishes one, is never simply half of the same list – it is built from a smaller list of religions from the start, on top of the shorter assessment the DfE's own rule requires.
Checking the board, the code and the route before booking any course advertised as 'GCSE Religious Studies' settles which past papers and mark scheme are worth practising from: AQA 8061, 8062 or 8063; Pearson 1RA0 or 1RB0; OCR J625 or J125; or WJEC Eduqas C120 (Route A or B) or C125. Confirming which one a school has actually entered a student for, ideally before revision starts rather than after a mock exam reveals the wrong topic list has been used, is what determines which specification is worth the study time.
Get GCSE Religious Studies support built around the right board and route. Our tutors work from AQA 8061/8062/8063, Pearson 1RA0/1RB0, OCR J625/J125 or WJEC Eduqas C120/C125 – whichever specification a school has entered a student for.
Nine, across four boards, each confirmed on that board's own subject list. AQA publishes three GCSE codes: 8061 (Short Course), 8062 (Religious Studies A) and 8063 (Religious Studies B). Pearson Edexcel publishes two: 1RA0 (Religious Studies A) and 1RB0 (Religious Studies B). OCR publishes two: J625 (full course) and J125 (Short Course). WJEC Eduqas publishes two specifications with several route and option codes each: C120 (full course, with Route A world-faith suffixes P1–P5 or Route B suffix PB) and C125 (Short Course, suffixes P1–P5, no Route B short course exists). This page does not repeat a national count of exam boards from elsewhere on this site; it reports only what each of these four confirmed for Religious Studies on its own pages.
The DfE's subject-content document (published 12 February 2015, last updated 6 July 2016) requires every GCSE Religious Studies specification to make students demonstrate knowledge and understanding of two religions, and states that a short course's content must be half the content of the full course. It also requires every specification to teach that Britain's traditions are, in the main, Christian, alongside Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism and Sikhism, and non-religious beliefs such as atheism and humanism. Boards choose how to implement the mandate, which is why the same rule produces nine different specifications rather than one.
8062 (Religious Studies A) offers a genuinely open choice: two religions from seven (Buddhism, Christianity, Catholic Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Sikhism), with only Christianity plus Catholic Christianity barred as a combination, then either four themes or two themes plus two textual-studies themes, each component 1 hour 45 minutes, 96 marks, 50% of the GCSE. 8063 (Religious Studies B) removes that choice on one side: Catholic Christianity is compulsory, examined across four of six set topics each series, then one religion from only Islam or Judaism for the second component. 8061 (Short Course) narrows the religion list further, to two from four (Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Buddhism), drops the two components to one exam paper covering both the religion study and two compulsory (not chosen) themes, and is worth 100% of the Short Course on its own.
Pearson publishes no short course. Religious Studies A (1RA0) fixes Paper 1 to one religion from three (Catholic Christianity, Christianity, Islam), 50% of the qualification, then requires Paper 2 to study a different religion from a wider list of seven, explicitly barring a Catholic Christianity/Christianity cross-pick, before a final paper choice between Philosophy and Ethics on the Paper 1 religion or Textual Studies on Mark's Gospel or the Qur'an. Religious Studies B (1RB0) works the other way round: schools choose which two of three possible papers to enter, each drawn from the same seven-religion list, but the two chosen religions must still differ, each paper worth 50% of the qualification.
Further than the other three boards on the full course, but not on the Short Course. J625's Component Group 1 allows any combination of two religions from five (Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, Hinduism), each a separate 1-hour, 25%-weighted paper; Component Group 2 then must reuse one of those two religions for a single 2-hour, 50%-weighted paper. J125, the Short Course, narrows the list to three religions (Christianity, Islam, Judaism) and chains its own two sections together: the religion studied in Section C must be the same one studied in Section B, which J625 does not require between its two Component Groups.
Route A keeps a genuinely open structure: Component 1 (50%) covers four compulsory religious, philosophical and ethical themes, Component 2 (25%) is a compulsory study of Christianity, and Component 3 (25%) is one world faith chosen from five, each choice carrying its own entry-code suffix (C120P1 to C120P5). Route B removes that choice: it is built around Catholic Christianity across two components worth 37.5% each, plus a fixed 25% component on Judaism, entered as C120PB – WJEC Eduqas's own specification describes Route B as integrating '75% study of Catholic Christianity with 25% study of Judaism'. The Short Course (C125) mirrors Route A's shape at roughly half the length, but no Route B short course exists at all.
Yes and no, and both halves matter. WJEC Eduqas's own Short Course specification states plainly that it 'covers the content necessary to fulfil the statutory requirements for the study of religion to the end of Key Stage 4' – so a school's underlying duty to teach religious education through to the end of Key Stage 4 does not disappear just because a student is not entered for an examined GCSE. The GCSE itself, full or short course, is the qualification a school can choose to formalise on top of that requirement; a student not sitting either variant may still be receiving statutory RE lessons that are not being examined at all.
Our GCSE Religious Studies tutors work from the specification, route and religions a student is actually studying – AQA 8061, 8062 or 8063, Pearson 1RA0 or 1RB0, OCR J625 or J125, or WJEC Eduqas C120 (Route A or B) or C125 – rather than generic revision notes written for a different board's religion list. 91% of our students achieve their desired grades, and we are rated 4.8 out of 5 on Trustpilot. Book a free consultation or message us on WhatsApp to talk it through.
Reviewed 8 September 2026: specification codes, component structure, marks and weightings were checked against AQA, Pearson Edexcel, OCR and WJEC Eduqas's own published specifications, and against the DfE's GCSE Religious Studies subject-content document. No JCQ entry or grade-boundary figures are published on this page. Last updated 8 September 2026.
Our expert GCSE Religious Studies tutors help students work through AQA, Pearson Edexcel, OCR or WJEC Eduqas, on whichever route and religions their school has entered them for. Rated 4.8 out of 5 on Trustpilot from 58 reviews.
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