GCSE Design and Technology
Learners type short and extended answers in an on-screen examination. In a 40 hour design project worth 70% they write a design brief and specification, annotate and justify ideas, and evaluate their prototype using feedback from users. Numeracy is practical and constant: accurate measuring and marking out within tolerances in every pathway, costing and material estimates in Fashion and Textiles, and formula-based mechanical and electronic calculations in Engineering Design. The single biggest thing Key Stage 3 should build is precise measuring in millimetres against a stated tolerance, followed by a written evaluation that uses test results and user comments as evidence.
- Awarding body
- WJEC
- Level
- Level 1 and Level 2
- First taught
- September 2026
- Amount of literacy work
- Medium
- Amount of numeracy work
- Medium
- Specification
- Open the specification
How this qualification is assessed
- Unit 1: Design and Technology in the 21st Century: Digital (on-screen) examination 1 hour 30 minutes, 30%, 80 marks
- Unit 2: Design Project: Non-examination assessment, approximately 40 hours, 70%, 100 marks
Skills that use The number system
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Measuring and marking out within tolerances
In every pathway learners must measure and mark out accurately from reference points or datum faces. Engineering Design and Product Design learners must work within specified tolerances, and Fashion and Textiles learners must measure standard seam allowances of 15 mm.
Numeracy: Measurement, The number system, Strategic competence, Communicating with symbols
Getting pupils ready
- Year 7
- Pupils mark out a pine box side to 120 mm, plus or minus 1 mm, with a steel rule and try square, then check a partner's piece and record whether it is within tolerance.
- Year 8
- Pupils mark out an acrylic keyring from a datum edge, measure the finished piece, and record the difference from the drawing in millimetres.
- Year 9
- Pupils use vernier callipers to check five cut or turned parts against a tolerance of 0.5 mm, recording the upper and lower limits in a table and rejecting parts outside them.
Show the specification wording and the LNF statements
Where it is in the specification: Unit 2, 2.1.8, page 36; 2.1.12, page 38; 2.1.16, page 40
“employ accurate measuring techniques and establish reference points or datum faces”
Progression step 3
I can read and interpret scales or divisions on a range of measuring instruments.
I can record measurements in different ways, e.g. 1.3kg = 1kg 300g, 4.2cm = 4cm 2mm.
I can convert metric units of length to smaller units, e.g. cm to mm, m to cm, km to m.
Progression step 4
I can read and interpret scales on a range of measuring instruments.
I can use the common units of measure, convert between related units of the metric system and carry out calculations.
I can choose the appropriate degree of accuracy to present answers.
Progression step 5
I can recognise and define limitations on accuracy of measurements, e.g. upper and lower bounds.
I can identify, measure or obtain required information to complete the task.
I can use appropriate notation, symbols and units of measurement, including compound measures.
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Estimating material quantities, waste and costs
Fashion and Textiles learners must estimate material quantities and costs from standard fabric widths and calculate costs, sizes and quantities of components. All pathways must minimise waste and make allowances for cutting when marking out.
Numeracy: Shape and space, Financial literacy, The number system, Calculation, Strategic competence, Conceptual understanding
Getting pupils ready
- Year 7
- Pupils work out how many 100 mm by 60 mm pieces they can cut from a 300 mm by 200 mm sheet of MDF and sketch the layout that wastes least.
- Year 8
- Pupils cost their cushion project from a price list, working out the fabric length needed from a 115 cm wide roll and the total cost of fabric, thread and fastenings.
- Year 9
- Pupils estimate, then calculate, the material cost of their product for one unit and for a batch of 20, and work out the percentage of the sheet wasted.
Show the specification wording and the LNF statements
Where it is in the specification: Unit 1, 1.1.18, page 23; Unit 2, 2.1.8, page 36
“estimate material quantities and costs based on best use of materials”
Progression step 3
I can find areas by counting squares, progressing to calculating the area of squares and rectangles using formulae.
I can manage money, compare costs from different retailers and determine what can be bought within a given budget.
I can estimate by rounding to the nearest 10, 100, 1000 or whole number.
Progression step 4
I can make and justify estimates and approximations of calculations.
I can use efficient methods for multiplication and division of whole numbers and decimals, including decimals such as 0.6 or 0.06.
I can express one quantity as a percentage of another.
Progression step 5
I can recognise, model and apply the underlying mathematical structures and ideas within problems, in order to formulate and solve them.
I can interpret answers within the context of the problem and consider whether answers, including calculator, analogue and digital displays, are sensible.
I can choose an appropriate mental or written strategy and know when it is appropriate to use a calculator.
Good to know
- Unit 1 is typed on screen, not handwritten: "Digital examination: 1 hour 30 minutes" (Summary of assessment, page 4).
- The specification does not mention marks for spelling, punctuation and grammar. The four assessment objectives cover knowledge, application, developing designs and analysing and evaluating, and "The Assessment Pack will include all detailed information relating to assessment." (Assessment, page 43).
- The specification does not say whether a calculator is allowed in the on-screen examination, although Engineering Design learners must "calculate ohms law" (Unit 1, 1.1.9, page 17). Check the Assessment Pack.
- Formula-based calculations are for one pathway only: "This area of study is relevant to learners that have chosen Engineering Design as their pathway." (Unit 1, 1.1(a), page 14). Costing from standard fabric widths sits in Fashion and Textiles (Unit 1, 1.1.18, page 23).
- The design project is "Non-examination assessment: Approximately 40 hours", worth 70% and 100 marks (page 4). AO4, analyse and evaluate, is 20% of the qualification and is assessed only in Unit 2 (page 43).
- Written notes, presentations and mathematical modelling are listed "for example" (Unit 2, 2.1.4, pages 34 to 35), which the specification says "indicates that the specified content is for guidance only" (page 8). No word limits are stated.
Links with other qualifications
Ohm's law and moments overlap with The Sciences, gear ratios, scale drawing and tolerances with Mathematics and Numeracy, and product analysis and evaluative writing with English Language and Literature, so shared methods and vocabulary would help pupils.
Source: WJEC GCSE Design and Technology specification, Approved by Qualifications Wales, teaching from 2026, for award from 2028 (© WJEC CBAC Ltd 2025).