LNF Cymru Literacy and numeracy for Wales

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GCSE Digital Media and Film

Digital Media and Film is a high literacy GCSE: learners analyse film, game and news texts including an unseen extract, write comparative and evaluative answers, research and write a Welsh industry case study, script productions and keep a reflective log. Numeracy is light and never calculated in the examination, limited to reading audience and success figures and handling timings for editing, trailers and release schedules. The single biggest thing Key Stage 3 should build is analytical writing about moving image, where pupils name a technique precisely and explain its effect on an audience.

First taught
September 2026
Amount of literacy work
High
Amount of numeracy work
Low
Specification
Open the WJEC specification (PDF)
How this GCSE is assessed
  • Unit 1: Exploring key concepts and issues: On-screen examination 1 hour 30 minutes, 60 marks, 30%
  • Unit 2: Distribution and exhibition strategies of digital media and film industries in Wales: Non-examination assessment, portfolio based, 18 hours, 72 marks, 30%
  • Unit 3: Creating digital media and film content: Non-examination assessment, assignment based, no time restriction, 96 marks, 40%

Skills that use Vocabulary, spelling, grammar

  1. Writing for a target audience: mission statement, tagline and justification

    Assessed: In coursework (non-examination assessment, NEA)

    Learners propose a new production company with a mission statement, tagline and target audience, then write distribution and exhibition strategies and justify their choices and intended impact. This needs concise persuasive writing alongside clear reasoned justification.

    Literacy: Planning and organising for different purposes, audiences and context, Vocabulary, spelling, grammar

    Getting pupils ready

    Year 7
    Pupils invent a tagline of no more than eight words for a class film and explain in one sentence who it is aimed at.
    Year 8
    Pupils write a three-sentence mission statement for an imaginary Aberdare film company and swap with a partner to check it states purpose, goals and values.
    Year 9
    Pupils plan a local screening event for a short film and write a paragraph justifying the venue, date and poster design for their chosen audience.
    Show the specification wording and the LNF statements

    Where it is in the specification: Unit 2, Section 2.1.3, page 21

    “justify the chosen strategies, including the intended impact of the strategies”
    Progression step 3

    • I can adapt my writing style and structure to suit the audience, purpose and context, e.g. suitable balance between facts and viewpoints, a precise conclusion.

    • I can make appropriate choices about vocabulary, idiomatic language and syntax in order to express myself with fluency and clarity for different audiences and purposes.

    Progression step 4

    • I can adapt my writing style, choosing and using the best structures for different contexts and purposes, e.g. to successfully describe, explain, persuade, discuss.

    • I can write about my thoughts, feelings and opinions, using a range of techniques, e.g. emotive language, hyperbole, choice of pronouns (you, we), to show impact.

    Progression step 5

    • I can summarise confidently, adapting style and form for the reader or intended audience and purpose for writing.

    • I can select and use appropriate strategies to plan and develop my writing for a challenging range of different purposes and audiences.

  2. Using subject terminology accurately

    Assessed: In the exam and in coursework (NEA)

    The glossary sets out terms such as mise-en-scène, diegetic sound, binary opposition, prosumer and electronic press kit. Learners need to spell and use this vocabulary precisely in examination answers, the portfolio and the reflective log.

    Literacy: Vocabulary, spelling, grammar

    Getting pupils ready

    Year 7
    Pupils learn and test the spelling of ten camera shot and angle terms, then label stills from a film with the correct term.
    Year 8
    Pupils build a personal glossary of sound and editing terms, such as diegetic, non-diegetic and dissolve, with a definition and an example from a clip.
    Year 9
    Pupils rewrite a vague film review paragraph, replacing everyday words with precise terms such as mise-en-scène, low key lighting and binary opposition.
    Show the specification wording and the LNF statements

    Where it is in the specification: Appendix B, Glossary of Terminology, page 34

    “to aid learners in articulating their ideas using subject-specific terminology”
    Progression step 3

    • I can use varied, appropriate and precise vocabulary including area of learning and experience/discipline-specific words for different purposes.

    • I can use strategies to correctly spell polysyllabic, complex and irregular words in the context of each area of learning and experience.

    Progression step 4

    • I have experienced a range of area of learning and experience/discipline-specific and general academic vocabulary, and can use them in my own communication.

    • I can use a variety of strategies and resources to spell familiar and unfamiliar vocabulary and area of learning and experience/discipline-specific words correctly.

    Progression step 5

    • I can use a range of discipline-specific and general academic vocabulary accurately and precisely.

    • I can use strategies to spell discipline-specific and general academic words in appropriate contexts.

Good to know

Links with other GCSEs

At Key Stage 3 this reading and writing work overlaps closely with English film and media units, and the news reliability work links to Humanities and Digital Technology, so a shared analytical paragraph frame across departments would help.

Source: WJEC GCSE Digital Media and Film specification, teaching from 2026, for award from 2028, Version 2, September 2026.