GCSE Core Cymraeg
GCSE Core Cymraeg makes few direct digital demands. Learners watch a short video stimulus for Unit 1, interpret charts and statistics in Unit 2, and read and write digital text types such as blogs, emails and online information in the examinations. No dictionaries or other resources are allowed in any assessment, so the biggest thing KS3 can build is confident, critical viewing and reading of Cymraeg media, including video, charts and online texts.
- Awarding body
- WJEC
- Level
- Level 1 and Level 2
- First taught
- September 2025
- Amount of digital work
- Low
- Specification
- Open the specification
How this qualification is assessed
- Unit 1: Responding to a Visual Stimulus: Non-examination assessment, speaking and listening in a pair (6 to 8 minutes) or group of three (8 to 10 minutes), set by WJEC, marked by the centre and moderated by WJEC, 25%, 50 marks
- Unit 2: Responding to Various Sources: Non-examination assessment, speaking and listening in a pair (6 to 8 minutes) or group of three (8 to 10 minutes), set by WJEC, marked by the centre and moderated by WJEC, 25%, 50 marks
- Unit 3: Preparing for the Future: Written examination 1 hour 30 minutes, 25%, 100 marks
- Unit 4: Literature and Creative: Written examination 1 hour 30 minutes, 25%, 100 marks
Skills that use Communication
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Writing digital and work-related texts such as emails, blogs, text messages and adverts
Unit 3 and Unit 4 writing tasks can use digital forms such as a blog, email, text message and marketing material, in formal or informal register for different audiences. Unit 3 links this writing to the world of work.
DCF: Communication, Creating digital content
Getting pupils ready
- Year 7
- Pupils write and send a short Cymraeg email or Teams message to a partner about their weekend, with a greeting, a sign-off and a picture attached.
- Year 8
- Pupils write a Cymraeg blog post about their area in Word or Sway, choosing a heading, images and an informal register for readers their own age.
- Year 9
- Pupils write a formal Cymraeg email with a signature applying for a summer job at a local café, then rewrite it as an informal text to a friend and discuss what changed.
Show the specification wording and the DCF statements
Where it is in the specification: Unit 3, Section 3.1.1, page 17; Unit 4, Section 4.1.2, pages 20 to 21
“a blog • marketing material, advertisement, announcement, text message • email”
Progression step 3
I can exchange online communications, making use of a growing range of available features, e.g. add attachments or hyperlinks, change formatting.
I can show an understanding of the advantages and disadvantages of different forms of communication and when it is appropriate to use each, e.g. explain when video conferencing may be more appropriate than e-mail, and vice versa; explain the pros and cons of using instant messaging in social contexts; talk about purpose and audience.
Progression step 4
I can select and use different online communication tools for specific purposes with higher levels of competence, e.g. set up and manage an address book, organise contacts, use advanced features of e-mail provider (signature, auto reply, read receipt, widgets).
I can explore and develop a range of formal text document structures for different audiences and purposes.
Progression step 5
I can make use of and reflect on available online communication services for specific purposes, justifying selections made based on their appropriateness for delivery of information.
I can create formal text documents for a professional audience, incorporating the use of collaborative review tools into activities.
Good to know
- No dictionaries or other resources are allowed in the preparation time for the spoken NEAs: "The use of dictionaries or any other resource is not permitted during the preparation." (Summary of assessment, Units 1 and 2, page 5).
- Both written examinations ban all resources: "Learners are not permitted to use dictionaries or any other resources in any part of the assessment." (Summary of assessment, Units 3 and 4, page 6).
- In Unit 1 learners make notes on a sheet provided for the task, which the teacher keeps; its format is not stated: "A sheet will be available for candidates to complete while they watch the clip." (Section 3.2, page 24).
- NEA tasks are released to centres, not learners, through WJEC's Portal: "WJEC will release a list for each centre on Portal ahead of the assessment period" (Section 3.2, page 24).
- Use of digital technology is a learning experience only: "the experiences will not be directly assessed" (Opportunities for integration of learning experiences, page 22).
- The specification says nothing about AI, typing, or how the spoken NEAs are captured for moderation; detail is left to the Assessment Pack: "The Assessment Pack will include all detailed information relating to assessment." (Section 3, page 23).
Links with other qualifications
WJEC's Appendix B (pages 29 to 30) ticks Digital Competence Citizenship and Interacting and Collaborating for all four units, Producing for Units 3 and 4, and Data and Computational Thinking for Units 2 and 3; chart reading overlaps with Mathematics and Numeracy, and the video listening and digital text types match GCSE French, German and Spanish.
Source: WJEC GCSE Core Cymraeg specification, Version 3, September 2026, teaching from 2025, for award from 2027.