GCSE Digital Technology
GCSE Digital Technology is digital from start to finish: an on-screen examination, then two NEAs in which learners clean and analyse a spreadsheet data set, plan, build and test a multi-page website plus a game or 2D animation, and edit photos, graphics and footage into a marketing video. The single biggest thing KS3 should build is confident spreadsheet data handling (formulas, sorting, filtering and charts), because Unit 2 starts from a WJEC data set and every later product must reflect what learners find in it.
- 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: The Digital World: Digital examination 1 hour 30 minutes, 80 marks, 40%
- Unit 2: Digital Practices: Non-examination assessment 20 hours, 80 marks, 40%, set by WJEC, marked by the centre, moderated by WJEC
- Unit 3: Communicating in the Digital World: Non-examination assessment 10 hours, 60 marks, 20%, set by WJEC, marked by the centre, moderated by WJEC
Skills that use Identity, image and reputation
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Using digital content legally, safely and ethically: copyright, data protection and digital footprints
Learners must know the purposes and penalties of the Computer Misuse Act, Copyright Act, Data Protection Act and GDPR, Investigatory Powers Act and Online Safety Act. They also study threats such as phishing and social engineering, managing active and passive digital footprints through privacy settings, and the ethics of AI in decision making.
DCF: Digital rights, licensing and ownership, Identity, image and reputation, Online behaviour and online bullying
Getting pupils ready
- Year 7
- Pupils record the source of every image they use in a project and sort a set of example emails into genuine and phishing.
- Year 8
- Pupils find Creative Commons images for a presentation, record the licence and credit for each, and review the privacy settings on a mock social media profile.
- Year 9
- Pupils investigate a real data breach or copyright case, explain which law applies and recommend what the organisation should have done.
Show the specification wording and the DCF statements
Where it is in the specification: Unit 1, Sections 1.5.1, 1.5.3 and 1.5.4, pages 19 to 20
“Learners should know the strategies and importance of managing digital footprints”
Progression step 3
I can understand that copying the work of others and presenting it as my own is plagiarism.
I can cite sources when researching and explain the importance of this, e.g. create simple lists for the referencing of digital and offline sources.
I can understand how to protect myself from online identity theft, e.g. identifying secure sites, phishing, scam websites.
Progression step 4
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.
I can understand that I have a digital footprint and that this information can be searched, copied and passed on.
I can use strategies for guarding myself against identity theft and online scams that try to access my personal information.
Progression step 5
I can identify the key points required for creative work to be considered fair use and comply with data protection laws by exploring the legal and ethical considerations involved in using the creative work of others.
I can identify and describe the data protection policies of a variety of organisations located in different countries, and how this affects the way that they work.
I can apply appropriate strategies to protect the rights, identity, privacy and emotional safety of both myself and others in online communities.
Good to know
- Unit 1 is sat on screen, not on paper: "Assessment type: Digital-only examination" (Unit 1, page 10).
- Software with AI features cannot be used for NEA products. Each Decision Guide for website, animation, game, photo and graphics software begins: "Can the software be used without internet access or without access to artificial intelligence features (which are not permitted)?" (Appendices D to H, pages 54 to 58).
- Internet access is limited to research time outside the NEA hours: "This research time does not form part of their non-examination assessment time, and during this period they will have access to the internet." (Section 3.2, page 36).
- Software choice is controlled: "Centres must refer to the Decision Guide provided in Appendix G, H and I to support the choice of software." (Unit 3, page 29). For Unit 2 centres should refer to Appendices D, E and F (page 23).
- The website is compulsory but the second product is a choice: "All learners must produce a multi-page website, and they may choose to create either a computer game or a 2D animation." (Section 3.2, page 36).
- Work must be submitted digitally: animation software that cannot export embeddable content is "not suitable for digital submission" (Appendix E, page 55).
Links with other qualifications
Spreadsheet cleaning and charting overlaps with data handling in Mathematics, Science and Geography, and source reliability and copyright overlap with any subject that asks pupils to research online.
Source: WJEC GCSE Digital Technology Specification, teaching from 2026, for award from 2028, Version 2, February 2026.