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 Proofreading, editing and improving
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Planning and refining a sustained response
Unit 2 responses are researched, developed and refined in a preparatory period, and only notes made then can be used in the 10 hour sustained focus. Learners must plan well and refine their own work.
Literacy: Planning and organising for different purposes, audiences and context, Proofreading, editing and improving
Getting pupils ready
- Year 7
- Pupils write a simple numbered plan for a two lesson collage task, tick off each step and say which step changed.
- Year 8
- Pupils produce a one page plan for a three lesson outcome listing materials, stages and time per stage, then review and amend it afterwards.
- Year 9
- Pupils rehearse a mini externally set assignment: a week of planned preparatory studies and a one page action plan, then a timed two hour session using only those notes.
Show the specification wording and the LNF statements
Where it is in the specification: Unit 2 overview, page 20; Subject content 1.2.8, page 14
“Responses will be researched, developed and refined during the preparatory study period.”
Progression step 3
I can explore different ways to plan, draft and present my work appropriately.
I can reflect on, edit and redraft to improve the quality of my expression, and use a range of strategies to ensure greater clarity.
Progression step 4
I can select and use appropriate strategies to plan and develop my writing for different purposes and audiences.
I can improve writing through independent review and redrafting.
Progression step 5
I can select and use appropriate strategies to plan and develop my writing for a challenging range of different purposes and audiences.
I can improve the content, structure and accuracy of my writing through critical reflection, review and editing, responding constructively to feedback.
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).