GCSE English Language and Literature
The examinations are traditional reading and writing papers, but the NEA units are digital by design: all NEA work is submitted digitally and every oracy task is audio or video recorded. Unit 2 also asks learners to research a topic for an oral presentation and judge the reliability of their sources. The biggest thing KS3 should build is researched, well sourced speaking that pupils are used to recording, reviewing and submitting themselves.
- 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: Context and Meaning (Single and Double Award): Written examination 1 hour 30 minutes, 30% of the Single Award, 15% of the Double Award
- Unit 2: Belonging (Single and Double Award): NEA approximately 7 hours, 20% of the Single Award, 10% of the Double Award
- Unit 3: Influence and Power (Single and Double Award): NEA approximately 5 hours 55 minutes, 20% of the Single Award, 10% of the Double Award
- Unit 4a: Motivations (Single Award only): Written examination 1 hour 30 minutes, 30% of the Single Award
- Unit 4b: Motivations (Double Award only): Written examination 1 hour 30 minutes, 20% of the Double Award
- Unit 5: Continuity and Change (Double Award only): NEA approximately 8 hours, 20% of the Double Award
- Unit 6: Connections (Double Award only): Written examination 1 hour 30 minutes, 25% of the Double Award
Skills that use Health and well-being
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Reading persuasive and media texts critically, including non-continuous texts
Units 3 and 6 are built on a non-fiction anthology whose themes each include two non-continuous texts and a transcript of a spoken text, and learners explore how writers and speakers influence audiences. The specification does not require online texts, but this is where pupils meet most persuasion, bias and stereotyping.
DCF: Health and well-being, Identity, image and reputation, Sourcing, searching and planning digital content
Getting pupils ready
- Year 7
- Pupils annotate a screenshot of a charity webpage or online advert, labelling the persuasive language and design features meant to catch their attention.
- Year 8
- Pupils compare how one news story is told in a newspaper article, a social media post and an infographic, identifying bias and stereotypes in each.
- Year 9
- Pupils analyse the transcript of a widely shared speech alongside an edited image or clip of the same event, and discuss how editing and word choice shape the audience's view.
Show the specification wording and the DCF statements
Where it is in the specification: Unit 3, Section 3.2, page 35 (anthology structure in Unit 3, Section 3.1, page 18)
“explore how writers and speakers attempt to influence their audiences”
Progression step 3
I can identify marketing elements designed to draw my attention.
I can think critically about information shared online, e.g. the impact of sharing images and videos, metadata of images and videos.
Progression step 4
I can identify stereotypes and their impact in a range of media.
I can make informed choices while making online choices, including making in-app purchases and clicking on adverts.
Progression step 5
I can think critically about the different purposes and contexts of digital image editing, e.g. explore the benefits and negative points of photograph manipulation, evaluate digitally edited images in terms of context and purpose.
I can search efficiently for information for my digital work and evaluate the reliability of sources of information, justifying opinions and reasons for choices, and I can reference work using appropriate methods.
Good to know
- Digital writing is optional for NEA: page 34 says "written assessments may be handwritten and scanned, or completed digitally".
- Units 1, 4a, 4b and 6 are each described as a "Written Examination" (pages 5 to 6). The specification mentions no digital tools for them.
- Recorded performances support study of the Shakespeare play but cannot replace it: "this must not be a substitute for studying the whole text" (Unit 5, page 37; the same point is made in Section 5.1, page 26).
- Unit 3 Task B names vlogs and podcasts as forms, but "The work must be a written text designed to be spoken" (page 36). Only the script is assessed, not a produced recording.
- For Unit 5 paired discussions the recording is the centre's job: "Centres must make an audio recording or an audio-visual recording of all paired discussions" (page 37).
- If a recording is audio only, "the candidates’ page of notes must also be uploaded" (page 34).
- The specification does not mention AI tools. Page 38 says "Candidates must not take part in any unfair practice" and points centres to the JCQ booklet Suspected Malpractice: Policies and Procedures.
Links with other qualifications
Checking and citing sources, and recording and reviewing speech, are habits any KS3 department can reinforce, so English does not have to build them alone.
Source: WJEC GCSE English Language and Literature (Single and Double Award) specification, Version 5, teaching from 2025, for award from 2027, © WJEC CBAC Ltd. 2024.