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 Understanding, response and analysis
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Analysing artworks from diverse contexts
Learners must critically analyse art, craft and design from different cultures, places and times and explain how context shapes meaning. AO1 rewards critical and contextual understanding of sources in both units.
Literacy: Understanding, response and analysis
Getting pupils ready
- Year 7
- Pupils study one Kyffin Williams landscape and complete a content, form, process and mood grid, writing one sentence under each heading.
- Year 8
- Pupils compare a Welsh artist with a Black or Asian artist working on the same theme, noting similarities and differences in a Venn diagram before writing a paragraph.
- Year 9
- Pupils research an artist's context and write a short analysis explaining how the time and place the work was made shape its meaning, using evidence from the image.
Show the specification wording and the LNF statements
Where it is in the specification: Subject content 1.2.6, page 14; AO1, page 18
“apply critical thinking to a wide variety of art, craft, and design from diverse contexts”
Progression step 3
I can read closely, identifying and noting features of texts, e.g. introduction, sequence, illustrations, formality, key vocabulary.
I can use my understanding of different kinds of texts to consider whether a text is effective in conveying information, ideas and views.
Progression step 4
I can identify different interpretations of text and information and evaluate their relative merits.
I can compare and contrast themes and issues across a range of texts including digital and audio-visual texts.
Progression step 5
I can read closely, analysing the content, language and impact of texts to deepen my understanding.
I can explore in detail different interpretations of issues and ideas, using the text/a range of sources to support opinions.
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Researching and selecting contextual sources
Learners develop ideas through sustained research, and Unit 2 begins with contextual and practical research during the preparatory period. They must select relevant sources and take from them what informs their own work.
Literacy: Understanding, response and analysis
Getting pupils ready
- Year 7
- Pupils use two given books or websites to find three facts about an artist and record them in their sketchbook with the source named.
- Year 8
- Pupils gather images and short quotations about a printmaker from a gallery website and a book, then sort them into useful and not useful for their own project.
- Year 9
- Pupils build an independent research page for a theme such as cynefin, choosing their own sources and writing why each one will shape their ideas.
Show the specification wording and the LNF statements
Where it is in the specification: Subject content 1.2.1, page 14; Unit 2 overview, page 16
“develop and research, using explorative and analytical skills to support sustained investigative curiosity”
Progression step 3
I can make use of reference/digital sources to select, summarise and synthesise information, referencing as appropriate.
I can collate and make connections, e.g. prioritising, categorising, between information and ideas from different sources including digital and audio-visual texts.
Progression step 4
I can research a wide range of reference and digital sources to develop a full understanding of a topic or issue.
I can evaluate the usefulness and reliability of texts.
Progression step 5
I can independently research a wide range of sources to develop an understanding of an increasingly complex topic or issue.
I can use printed and digital texts to search selectively, assessing the reliability, significance and accuracy of what I find.
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).