GCSE Art and Design
There is no written examination and no separate marks for spelling or grammar, but half the marks (AO1 and AO3, 25% each) depend on reading and analysing artworks and on recording annotated reflections as work progresses. Numeracy is marked as pathway dependent and is limited to measuring, scale and proportion, mostly in Three-dimensional design, Textile design and Graphic communication. The single biggest thing Key Stage 3 should build is the habit of precise, evaluative annotation using the language of art, written as the work develops.
- Awarding body
- WJEC
- Level
- Level 1 and Level 2
- First taught
- September 2025
- Amount of literacy work
- Medium
- Amount of numeracy work
- Low
- Specification
- Open the specification
How this qualification is assessed
- Unit 1: Portfolio: Non-examination assessment, internally set, marked by centres and moderated by WJEC, 60%, 120 marks
- Unit 2: Externally Set Assignment: Non-examination assessment, preparatory study plus 10 hours sustained focus, 40%, 80 marks
Skills that use Shape and space
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Enlarging and repeating two-dimensional designs
Textile design includes printed fabrics and Graphic communication includes packaging and typography, which rely on scaling designs in proportion and measuring repeats. This is pathway dependent.
Numeracy: Calculation, Angle, Shape and space
Getting pupils ready
- Year 7
- Pupils enlarge a small insect drawing onto A3 using a grid of 1 cm squares scaled to 3 cm squares, counting squares to keep the proportions right.
- Year 8
- Pupils design a half drop repeat tile for a textile print, measuring and marking the half offset so the pattern joins without gaps.
- Year 9
- Pupils scale a logo for a poster, a badge and a tote bag, calculating each width from a scale factor and keeping the height in the same ratio.
Show the specification wording and the LNF statements
Where it is in the specification: Textile design pathway, page 9; Graphic communication pathway, page 8; Appendix A, page 23
“the creation of designs and products for woven, knitted, stitched, or printed fabrics”
Progression step 3
I can use ratio and proportion to calculate quantities.
I can multiply numbers and decimals by a multiple of 10, e.g. 15 x 30, 1.4cm x 20.
Progression step 4
I can use ratio and proportion including map scales.
I can measure and draw angles.
Progression step 5
I can apply proportional change to two-dimensional designs.
Good to know
- The whole qualification is non-examination assessment: Unit 1 Portfolio 60% and Unit 2 Externally Set Assignment 40% (page 4). There is no written paper.
- No separate marks are awarded for spelling, punctuation and grammar. Written literacy counts through AO3, to "record ideas, observations and insights", worth 25% overall (page 18).
- "There is no restriction on content, format or scale of work" (page 19). Work may be presented as sketchbooks, visual diaries, display sheets or a digital portfolio, so annotation can be handwritten or on screen.
- Unit 2 sustained focus: "Learners have a maximum of 10 hours to produce their outcome, which must begin with a minimum 2-hour session", under direct supervision, with no teacher advice or feedback (page 20).
- In Unit 2 Part 2 learners can use "resources and/preparatory notes produced in Part 1 only" (page 20).
- Numeracy strands are marked "Pathway dependent" for both units in Appendix A (page 23). With no examination, there are no calculator rules.
Links with other qualifications
The scale and proportion work overlaps with Mathematics and Design and Technology, so shared vocabulary for scale factor and ratio helps pupils transfer skills.
Source: WJEC GCSE Art and Design specification, teaching from 2025, for award from 2027 (© WJEC CBAC Ltd 2024).