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 Understanding, response and analysis
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Analysing existing products and the work of designers
Unit 1 asks learners to analyse existing products against users' needs, wants and values and to identify and discuss named designers such as Alessi, Frank Lloyd Wright, Iris Van Herpen or Mark Rober. The design project starts by investigating existing products.
Literacy: Understanding, response and analysis
Getting pupils ready
- Year 7
- Pupils read a one-page profile of a Welsh maker, highlight three facts about how the designer works, and write one sentence on how it could influence their own clock design.
- Year 8
- Pupils write a product analysis of two bottle openers under the headings function, user, materials and aesthetics, using a short manufacturer's description as a source.
- Year 9
- Pupils research Alessi from two sources, note what each says, and write a paragraph judging how well one Alessi product meets its users' needs.
Show the specification wording and the LNF statements
Where it is in the specification: Unit 1 overview, page 9; Unit 1, 1.1.5, page 12; Unit 2, 2.1.2, page 34
“analysing existing products that respond to the users’ needs, wants and values”
Progression step 3
I can show understanding of and use the main ideas and significant details in different texts on the same topic.
I can read closely, identifying and noting features of texts, e.g. introduction, sequence, illustrations, formality, key vocabulary.
I can make use of reference/digital sources to select, summarise and synthesise information, referencing as appropriate.
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.
I can summarise, synthesise and analyse information to gain in-depth understanding, e.g. of causes, consequences, patterns, using different sources.
Progression step 5
I can read closely, analysing the content, language and impact of texts to deepen my understanding.
I can confidently evaluate the purpose, impact and reliability of texts.
I can independently research a wide range of sources to develop an understanding of an increasingly complex topic or issue.
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).