Foundation Cymraeg
Entry Level Foundation Cymraeg is a 120 guided learning hour qualification for learners aged 14 to 16 who are working towards GCSE Cymraeg Language and Literature or need a coherent Welsh course in its own right. Almost all of it is literacy in Welsh. Unit 1 tests reading for meaning, simple sequencing and one extended piece of writing for an audience. Unit 2 asks for a creative response to a printed short story, novel or play and a Welsh piece based on an English source. Unit 3 assesses an individual talk and a pair or group discussion of a Welsh TV programme or film. Accuracy in grammar, spelling, punctuation and mutations runs through every unit. There is no numeracy content.
- Awarding body
- WJEC
- Level
- Entry Level
- First taught
- September 2027
- Amount of literacy work
- High
- Amount of numeracy work
- Low
- Specification
- Open the specification
How this qualification is assessed
- Unit 1: Reading and Writing: Two written subject tests, 60 minutes in total (2 x 30 minutes, plus 10 minutes reading time before Subject Test 1), 30%, 30 marks (15 per test), set and marked by WJEC, taken on screen or on paper within a four week summer window
- Unit 2: Responding to Texts: Non-examination assessment, two written tasks (up to 6 hours), 40%, 40 marks (25 for Task 1, 15 for Task 2), set by WJEC, marked by the centre and moderated by WJEC
- Unit 3: Oral: Non-examination assessment, two oral tasks (individual task 2 to 5 minutes, pair or group task about 5 minutes), 30%, 30 marks (10 for Task 1, 20 for Task 2), set by WJEC, marked by the centre and moderated by WJEC
Skills that use Questioning
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Discussing a Welsh TV programme or film in a group
In Unit 3 Task 2 learners join a natural discussion of about 5 minutes in a pair or group of three about a Welsh language TV programme or film. They listen and respond to others, express opinions on events and characters, and discuss filming techniques.
Literacy: Collaborative talk, Questioning, Listening as part of collaborative talk, Understanding, response and analysis
Getting pupils ready
- Year 7
- Pupils watch a short Welsh cartoon and, in pairs, take turns to say which character they liked and why, using cytuno and anghytuno phrases.
- Year 8
- Pupils discuss an episode of a Welsh soap in threes, each asking one question and responding to a partner's opinion before giving their own.
- Year 9
- Pupils hold a five minute Welsh discussion in threes about a Welsh film, building on each other's points about characters, music and camera shots.
Show the specification wording and the LNF statements
Where it is in the specification: Unit 3, Section 3.1.2, page 16; Summary of assessment, page 6
“listen and respond to contributions from others”
Progression step 3
I can contribute to group discussion in different roles, taking responsibility for completing the task well.
I can ask and answer questions, building on and developing the ideas of others in group discussions.
I can listen to and respond to others with questions and comments which focus on reasons, implications and next steps.
I can listen in order to show agreement and disagreement in collaborative discussion and situations.
Progression step 4
I can respond to others' points of view with confidence and sensitivity, summarising and evaluating what I have heard, read or seen.
I can listen to and respond to others with questions, comments and suggestions in order to develop collaborative talk and reach compromise/consensus.
I can compare and contrast themes and issues across a range of texts including digital and audio-visual texts.
Good to know
- Unit 1 can be taken on screen or on paper: "Centres will have the option to complete the test digitally or on paper." (Section 3.2, page 19), and there are separate entry codes for "Unit 1 (on screen)" and "Unit 1 (paper-based)" (Section 5.1, page 23).
- The Unit 2 creative task uses books, not screen texts: learners respond to a short story, novel or play, "printed texts only" (Unit 2, Section 2.1.1, page 14).
- The specification calls all three units non-examination assessment and follows the JCQ rules for vocational qualifications: "All non-examined assessment (NEA) must adhere to the instructions included in JCQ's Instructions for Conducting Non-Examination Assessments" (Section 3.3, page 20). No separate rule on AI use is given.
- Teachers supervise the NEA tasks and "must not give feedback on the evidence that is produced." (Section 3.3, page 20). Units 2 and 3 allow one resubmission before moderation (Section 3.4, page 21).
- Oral work is evidenced by the teacher rather than by a recording requirement: "evidence of performance (e.g. presentations) must be recorded using observation records" (Section 3.3, page 20).
- Results are reported at Entry Level 1, 2 or 3 only: the qualification "is reported on a three-point scale" (Section 5.3, page 24). There is no Level 1 grade.
- Accuracy carries marks in its own right: AO2 asks learners to "write and convey information and communicate opinions clearly and accurately, including grammar, punctuation and spelling" (Section 3.1, page 18).
- The specification asks for no numeracy. Appendix A (pages 26 and 27) ticks Listening, Reading, Speaking and Writing for all three units but places only a single numeracy tick, in the Unit 3 column against the statistics strand, which no content section supports.
Links with other qualifications
The qualification is designed as a route to GCSE Cymraeg Language and Literature: the specification says it "provides a broad foundation for progression to GCSE Iaith a Llenyddiaeth Gymraeg" (page 8). The same strands appear in both, but the GCSE steps them up. Foundation learners discuss one Welsh language TV programme or film in a pair or group of three, while GCSE learners analyse film and identity in a group discussion; the Foundation individual oral is a 2 to 5 minute talk on a topic of the learner's choice, while the GCSE presentation is researched and supported with sources; Foundation creative writing responds to one printed short story, novel or play, while the GCSE adds poetry, comparison and literary terminology; and both qualifications ask learners to take information from an English text and express it in Welsh. The translanguaging task and the writing forms (email, article, letter, leaflet) also link with English at Foundation level.
Source: WJEC Entry Level Foundation Cymraeg specification, approved by Qualifications Wales, teaching from September 2027, for award from 2029 (© WJEC CBAC Ltd 2026).