GCSE Design and Technology
Learners sit Unit 1 on screen and must know the advantages and disadvantages of CAD, CAM, AI and other emerging technologies, with Engineering Design learners also covering flowcharts and programmable microcontrollers. In the 40 hour design project, CAD, CAM machines, collated user data, presentations, audio and visual recordings and AI are all named as tools learners may use to research, design, model and make. The single biggest thing KS3 should build is confident, purposeful use of CAD and CAM, from a 2D drawing to a finished laser cut or 3D printed part, with pupils recording and justifying their decisions digitally.
- Awarding body
- WJEC
- Level
- Level 1 and Level 2
- First taught
- September 2026
- Amount of digital work
- High
- 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 Evaluating and improving digital content
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Communicating and justifying design development in a digital portfolio or presentation
Learners must communicate, record and justify design ideas using suitable techniques, with presentations, working drawings and schedules listed, and must act on feedback from others or clients to suggest improvements.
DCF: Creating digital content, Evaluating and improving digital content
Getting pupils ready
- Year 7
- Pupils make a one-slide PowerPoint design page with photos of their sketches and labels explaining one design choice.
- Year 8
- Pupils build design development slides from a template, invite a peer comment in Teams and show the change they made.
- Year 9
- Pupils produce a multi-page digital design folder with scanned sketches, CAD renders and photos, justifying each decision and recording changes made after client feedback.
Show the specification wording and the DCF statements
Where it is in the specification: Unit 2, 2.1.4, pages 34 and 35; Unit 2, 2.1.6, page 35
“communicate, record and justify design ideas, applying suitable techniques appropriate to endorsed pathways,”
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 explain reasons for layout and content of my own work and the work of others.
I can invite feedback/responses from others, e.g. use 'comment' in online platforms, asking questions or adding suggestions.
Progression step 4
I can select and use a variety of appropriate software, tools and techniques to create, modify and combine multimedia components for a range of audiences and purposes, such as:
- text and images, e.g. explore and use effectively image manipulation techniques; explore and use appropriately the many aspects of document layout; use animation, video and audio effects such as echo, tempo, envelope, layering, frame rate, key frames
- presentation, e.g. use design tools; adapt themes and colours to suit the purpose; create master templates.
I can justify the reasons for choices and explain the advantages and disadvantages of the different digital outputs I create.
I can suggest and make improvements that are relevant for audience and purpose, based on feedback and self-evaluation of my digital work.
Progression step 5
I can use a variety of software, tools and techniques to create a professional, individual or collaborative project outcome incorporating a range of multimedia components.
I can justify reasoning to critical audiences in terms of layout and content of my digital work.
I can make detailed and specific changes to my digital work, based upon feedback and self-evaluation, as relevant.
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Using AI and other computer-based design tools responsibly
Computer-based tools, with AI as the named example, are listed as a technique for developing ideas in the design project, and all learners must know the advantages and disadvantages of AI within CAD.
DCF: Digital rights, licensing and ownership, Sourcing, searching and planning digital content, Evaluating and improving digital content
Getting pupils ready
- Year 7
- Pupils compare their own product sketches with images from a web search and discuss where inspiration ends and copying begins.
- Year 8
- Pupils use a school-approved AI image tool to generate mood board images and clearly label which images are AI-made.
- Year 9
- Pupils test AI-generated design suggestions against their specification and record which they used, why, and how they acknowledged them.
Show the specification wording and the DCF statements
Where it is in the specification: Unit 2, 2.1.4, page 35; Unit 1, 1.1.1, page 10
“computer-based tools, for example, AI.”
Progression step 3
I can understand that copying the work of others and presenting it as my own is plagiarism.
I can begin to reference sources used in my work, and consider if content is reliable.
Progression step 4
I can evaluate the reliability of sources of information, justify my opinions and reasons for choices, and reference using appropriate methods.
I can understand copyright and can explain the legal and ethical dimensions of respecting creative work, e.g. exploring the ethical and legal ramifications of piracy and plagiarism and know that they are irresponsible and disrespectful, and I can apply my understanding of the rules and regulations to different scenarios.
Progression step 5
I can consider the benefits and limitations of digital tools and information sources and of the results I produce and use these results to inform future judgements about the quality of my digital work.
I can understand and reflect on the differences between taking inspiration from the creative work of others and appropriating that work without permission.
I can refer appropriately to sources of information used in my digital work.
Good to know
- Unit 1 is taken on screen, not on paper: "Digital examination: 1 hour 30 minutes" (Summary of assessment, page 4).
- Digital techniques in the design project are examples, not requirements. They sit in a "for example" list alongside hand methods such as "formal and informal 2D and 3D drawing" and "annotated sketches" (Unit 2, 2.1.4, page 34), so CAD, CAM and digital recording are not compulsory.
- AI is named as an acceptable design tool, "computer-based tools, for example, AI." (Unit 2, 2.1.4, page 35), but malpractice rules still apply: "Candidates must not take part in any unfair practice in the preparation of work for GCSE Design and Technology." (page 45).
- The specification does not state whether design project evidence is submitted digitally or on paper: "The Assessment Pack will include all detailed information relating to assessment." (page 43).
- Flowcharts, programming and microcontroller content is 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).
Links with other qualifications
Flowcharts and microcontroller programming overlap with Computer Science and Digital Technology, class data handling overlaps with Mathematics, and digital textile imagery overlaps with Art and Design.
Source: WJEC GCSE Design and Technology specification, Approved by Qualifications Wales, teaching from 2026, for award from 2028 (© WJEC CBAC Ltd 2025).