GCSE Music
The literacy load sits in the Unit 3 listening paper, where learners give short and extended typed answers on set works and unseen extracts using a long glossary of musical terms, and in the Unit 2 reflective log, which asks them to evaluate their own composing. Numeracy is built into reading and writing music: note values as fractions of a beat, simple and compound time signatures, counting intervals, numbering chords and working to set timings and tempos in BPM. The biggest thing Key Stage 3 should build is the habit of listening closely and then writing precise, well-organised sentences that use the correct musical term, backed by secure rhythm notation.
- First taught
- September 2025
- Amount of literacy work
- Medium
- Amount of numeracy work
- Medium
- Specification
- Open the WJEC specification (PDF)
How this GCSE is assessed
- Unit 1: Performing: Non-examination assessment, performance of 4-6 minutes (at least two pieces), marked by the centre and moderated by WJEC, 32.5%, 78 marks
- Unit 2: Composing: Non-examination assessment, 2 compositions (3-6 minutes total recommended) and a reflective log, marked by the centre and moderated by WJEC, 32.5%, 78 marks
- Unit 3: Appraising: Digital only examination 1 hour 30 minutes, marked by WJEC, 35%, 84 marks
Skills that use Strategic competence
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Tempo, BPM and working to set timings
Performances must total 4 to 6 minutes with each piece at least 1 minute, and compositions are recommended to total 3 to 6 minutes. Tempo is measured in BPM, a compound measure that links beats, bars and the length of a piece.
Numeracy: Measurement, Strategic competence
Getting pupils ready
- Year 7
- Pupils use a stopwatch to time their group performance in minutes and seconds and check it against a target length of one minute.
- Year 8
- Pupils set a metronome to different BPM values and match each one to an Italian tempo term such as andante, moderato or allegro.
- Year 9
- Pupils calculate how long a 32 bar song in 4/4 lasts at 120 BPM, then check the answer by playing it back in a DAW.
Show the specification wording and the LNF statements
Where it is in the specification: Summary of assessment, page 4; Section 3.2, page 18; Appendix B, page 29
“giving a total performance time of 4-6 minutes (each piece should be a minimum of 1 minute)”
Progression step 3
I can carry out practical activities involving timed events and explain which unit of time is the most appropriate.
I can time events in minutes and seconds, and order the results.
Progression step 4
I can represent and use compound measures, using standard units.
I can identify, measure or obtain required information to complete the task.
Progression step 5
I can understand and use a variety of compound measures.
I can identify, measure or obtain required information to complete the task.
Good to know
- No marks for spelling, punctuation and grammar or accuracy of language are mentioned anywhere in the specification.
- Unit 3 is a digital only examination of 1 hour 30 minutes, 84 marks and 35% of the qualification, so written answers are typed on screen, not handwritten (page 4).
- Learners must use the glossary terms in their Unit 3 answers, plus any extra terms that relate to their chosen set works (page 25).
- The Unit 2 reflective log covers the compositional process of one of the two compositions; no word limit or format is printed, and Unit 2 AO3 is worth 2.5% of the qualification (pages 17 and 18).
- Performance time is 4-6 minutes with each piece a minimum of 1 minute and up to 4 pieces allowed; the recommended total composition time is 3-6 minutes (page 18).
- The specification says nothing about calculators or dictionaries.
Links with other GCSEs
Appendix A ticks all four literacy strands and three numeracy strands (all except statistics and probability) across Units 1 to 3, pages 22 and 23.
Source: WJEC GCSE Music specification, teaching from 2025, for award from 2027, © WJEC CBAC Ltd. 2024 (no version number printed).