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. It has three units: reading and writing tests, written responses to texts, and oral tasks. Digital work is light and mostly optional. Centres can run the Unit 1 tests on screen, one of the Unit 1 writing forms is an email, the translanguaging task can produce a poster, leaflet or article that suits digital layout, and the Unit 3 group task asks learners to discuss filming techniques in a Welsh language TV programme or film. The specification also lists using digital technology as a learning experience that is not directly assessed.
- Awarding body
- WJEC
- Level
- Entry Level
- First taught
- September 2027
- Amount of digital 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 Health and well-being
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Discussing filming techniques in a Welsh TV programme or film
In Unit 3 Task 2 learners discuss a Welsh language TV programme or film in a pair or group of three, giving opinions on events and characters. They comment on how well filming techniques such as music, lighting, costume and shots work.
DCF: Evaluating and improving digital content, Health and well-being
Getting pupils ready
- Year 7
- Pupils watch a short clip from a Welsh children's programme and say in Welsh which piece of music or costume tells them most about a character.
- Year 8
- Pupils watch a scene from a Welsh drama on S4C Clic and, in pairs, talk about one close-up shot and the lighting, saying how each makes them feel.
- Year 9
- Pupils compare two scenes from a Welsh film in a group of three, discussing how shots, lighting and music build tension, and whether the characters are shown in a fair or stereotyped way.
Show the specification wording and the DCF statements
Where it is in the specification: Unit 3, Section 3.1.2, page 16; Section 3.2, page 19
“discuss a Welsh language TV programme or film”
Progression step 3
I can explain reasons for layout and content of my own work and the work of others.
I can comment on reasons for layout and content.
Progression step 4
I can reflect on the role of digital media in my life and habits.
I can identify stereotypes and their impact in a range of media.
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.
- Using technology is encouraged but not assessed: the course creates opportunities to "use digital technology whilst completing the qualification", and "the experiences will not be directly assessed" (page 17).
- Appendix A (pages 26 and 27) ticks Digital Competence Citizenship, Interacting and Collaborating and Producing for all three units, and Data and Computational Thinking for Unit 3 only, without saying which content sections they refer to.
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).