DCF Cymru Digital competence for Wales

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GCSE Business

GCSE Business asks learners to research a real local business and an entrepreneurial idea, collect data with questionnaires, present it in graphs and charts, and work out costs, profit and a cash flow forecast, with both NEA reports submitted digitally. The examined units test understanding of business technology, digital marketing and intellectual property rather than software skills. The single biggest thing KS3 should build is confident spreadsheet use: turning survey results into charts and building simple financial models with formulae.

Awarding body
WJEC
Level
Level 1 and Level 2
First taught
September 2025
Amount of digital work
Medium
Specification
Open the specification
How this qualification is assessed
  • Unit 1: Introduction to the Business World: Examination 1 hour 15 minutes, 30%
  • Unit 2: Key Business Considerations: NEA 5 hours, 15%, set and marked by WJEC
  • Unit 3: Business Strategies for Success: Examination 1 hour 15 minutes, 30%
  • Unit 4: Business Creation: NEA 8 hours, 25%, set by WJEC, marked by the centre and moderated by WJEC

Skills that use Creating digital content

  1. Writing a structured business report in a word processor

    Assessed: In coursework (non-examination assessment, NEA)

    Both NEA units end in a report: Unit 2 on a business in the locality and Unit 4 on the learner's entrepreneurial proposal. Learners need to combine text, tables, charts and figures into a formal document.

    DCF: Creating digital content, Sourcing, searching and planning digital content

    Getting pupils ready

    Year 7
    Pupils write a one-page Word fact file on a local business using headings, bullet points and an inserted, cropped image.
    Year 8
    Pupils write a short Word report on a class enterprise idea that uses heading styles, a table and an Excel chart.
    Year 9
    Pupils produce a structured Word report with heading styles, an automatic contents table, captioned charts and a source list, and use comments to review a partner's draft.
    Show the specification wording and the DCF statements

    Where it is in the specification: Section 3.2, Arrangements for non-examination assessment, pages 40 to 41

    “use their research findings to produce a report”
    Progression step 3

    • I can use a range of software to select, produce and edit a range of multimedia components for a purpose, such as:

      • text and images, e.g. format text (bold, underline, italics, highlight); insert and edit text boxes; columns; use refine tools (spellchecker, find and replace); word wrap; crop; alter size and shape; alter images; add effects; trim and split sound and video clips; transitions; onion skin
      • presentation, e.g. page orientation; animations; transitions; remove and alter images; use background; use action buttons to create hyperlink; embed objects.

    • I can independently create and plan work before beginning a digital task.

    Progression step 4

    • I can explore and develop a range of formal text document structures for different audiences and purposes.

    • I can select and effectively use a variety of planning techniques.

    Progression step 5

    • I can create formal text documents for a professional audience, incorporating the use of collaborative review tools into activities.

    • I can use appropriate indexing and referencing tools to enhance documents.

    • I can plan my digital work effectively and with increasing complexity.

Good to know

Links with other qualifications

Questionnaire design, charts and digital NEA submission match the demand in GCSE Social Studies, and the financial calculations overlap with Mathematics, so a shared KS3 routine of Forms to Excel to Word would serve all three.

Source: WJEC GCSE Business specification, Version 4, September 2025 (teaching from 2025, for award from 2027).