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Certificate of Secondary Education (CSE) Syllabus
A historic English/Welsh/NI qualification for 16-year-olds run alongside O-Levels, merged into the GCSE in 1988.. The complete Certificate of Secondary Education (CSE) outline — 8 subjects, 34 chapters and 126 topics — laid out so you can see exactly what has to be covered and tick each item off as you go.
Certificate of Secondary Education (CSE) subjects
Each subject below has its own page with the full chapter → topic → sub-topic tree and a set of real exam-style flashcards.
4 chapters · 16 topics · 36 sub-topics
English Literature4 chapters · 14 topics · 28 sub-topics
Mathematics5 chapters · 22 topics · 42 sub-topics
Science5 chapters · 18 topics · 37 sub-topics
History4 chapters · 14 topics · 27 sub-topics
Geography4 chapters · 15 topics · 27 sub-topics
French4 chapters · 15 topics · 31 sub-topics
Technical Drawing4 chapters · 12 topics · 23 sub-topics
Certificate of Secondary Education (CSE) flashcard decks
432 question-and-answer cards across 8 decks, written against this syllabus. Preview any deck free.
How to work through the Certificate of Secondary Education (CSE) syllabus
The outline on this page is arranged the way the syllabus itself is: subject, then chapter, then topic, then sub-topic. That last level is what most study plans skip, and it is where coverage actually goes wrong — a chapter marked "done" often has three sub-topics inside it that were never touched.
Weight your plan accordingly: Mathematics carries 22 topics while Technical Drawing carries 12. Giving both the same number of weeks is the most common planning mistake for Certificate of Secondary Education (CSE).
The ~145 hour estimate above is a first pass only: roughly 45 minutes per topic plus 12 minutes per sub-topic. Revision cycles, past papers and mocks sit on top of that number.
Certificate of Secondary Education (CSE) syllabus FAQ
What subjects are in the Certificate of Secondary Education (CSE) syllabus?
Certificate of Secondary Education (CSE) covers 8 subjects: English, English Literature, Mathematics, Science, History, Geography, French and Technical Drawing. Together they contain 34 chapters and 126 named topics.
How big is the Certificate of Secondary Education (CSE) syllabus?
The full Certificate of Secondary Education (CSE) outline breaks down into 34 chapters, 126 topics and 251 sub-topics. Mathematics is the largest single subject with 22 topics across 5 chapters.
How long does it take to cover the whole Certificate of Secondary Education (CSE) syllabus?
Roughly 145 hours for one full pass. That estimate allows about 45 minutes per topic plus 12 minutes per sub-topic, so it is first-pass coverage — revision, past papers and mock tests sit on top of it. At 3 hours a day that is about 7 weeks.
Are there Certificate of Secondary Education (CSE) flashcards?
Yes — 432 question-and-answer flashcards across 8 decks, one per subject, written against this syllabus. A sample of every deck is readable on this site for free, and the complete decks are in the Examius app.
Is this Certificate of Secondary Education (CSE) syllabus free to use?
Yes. Every page here is free to read, and importing the Certificate of Secondary Education (CSE) syllabus into the Examius app to tick off topics as you finish them is free too, in United Kingdom and everywhere else. No account is needed to start.
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