DCF Cymru Digital competence for Wales

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GCSE Integrated Science

Integrated Science (Single Award) encourages learners to use digital tools but names very little explicit digital work: an optional pH probe and modelling the spread of disease, with assessment by written examination and a supervised practical enquiry. Its digital value lies in the data work behind scientific enquiry: recording, graphing and evaluating primary and secondary data, and judging reliable sources on health and climate. The single biggest thing KS3 should build is routine use of Excel to record, graph and question practical results.

Awarding body
WJEC
Level
Level 1 and Level 2
First taught
September 2026
Amount of digital work
Low
Specification
Open the specification
How this qualification is assessed
  • Unit 1: Living on Earth: Written examination (tiered), 1 hour 30 minutes, 72 marks, includes pre-release Resource Folder, 45%
  • Unit 2: Science in a Changing World: Written examination (tiered), 1 hour 30 minutes, 72 marks, 45%
  • Unit 3: Scientific Enquiry: One enquiry from a choice of two: practical task (1 hour) and written task (1 hour), 28 marks, externally marked by WJEC, 10%

Skills that use Data and information literacy

  1. Recording and presenting practical results in tables and graphs using a spreadsheet

    Assessed: In the exam and in coursework (NEA)

    Learners must collect, record and present primary data and judge its quality, and plot two variables from experimental data. This is assessed in every unit and in the Unit 3 practical enquiry.

    DCF: Data and information literacy

    Getting pupils ready

    Year 7
    In a cooling cups practical, pupils type their temperature readings into an Excel table set up by the teacher and insert a line graph with axis titles and units.
    Year 8
    Pupils design their own Excel results table for a reaction time investigation, use AVERAGE to find the mean of repeats, and justify their choice of chart type.
    Year 9
    For an enzyme or photosynthesis investigation, pupils build a spreadsheet with a data entry area, mean formulae and a scatter graph with a trendline, then share it in Teams for another group to check.
    Show the specification wording and the DCF statements

    Where it is in the specification: Section 2, Scientific Enquiry Skills, SE5, page 9

    “Collect, record and present primary data, while evaluating and improving data quality”
    Progression step 3

    • I can construct, refine and interrogate data sets within tables, charts, spreadsheets and databases to test or support an investigation.

    • I can use a range of spreadsheet formulae, e.g. + - / x, sum, average, max, min.

    Progression step 4

    • I can create a data capture form, capture data, search data and create a database and spreadsheet with appropriate data input method.

    Progression step 5

    • I can use appropriate programs to produce statistical evidence based on my own collected data/identified scenario and justify reasoning.

  2. Plotting and analysing motion and rate graphs, including motion captured on video

    Assessed: In the exam and in coursework (NEA)

    Learners use distance-time and speed-time graphs, calculate speed and acceleration from gradients, and interpret the slope of rate of reaction graphs. The specification notes that sport scientists analyse the motion of athletes to measure performance.

    DCF: Data and information literacy

    Getting pupils ready

    Year 7
    Pupils time a partner walking and running over 10 m intervals, enter the distances and times in Excel and produce a distance-time graph to compare the two speeds.
    Year 8
    Pupils film a toy car rolling down a ramp next to a metre rule on an iPad in slow motion, read its position frame by frame into Excel and plot a distance-time graph.
    Year 9
    Pupils film a sprint on the field with a phone, extract times at 10 m markers into Excel, plot a speed-time graph and use the gradient to compare acceleration, as a sport scientist would.
    Show the specification wording and the DCF statements

    Where it is in the specification: Unit 1, Section 1.1.1e, page 13

    “use distance-time graphs and speed-time graphs to represent motion”
    Progression step 3

    • I can construct, refine and interrogate data sets within tables, charts, spreadsheets and databases to test or support an investigation.

    Progression step 4

    • I can perform analysis on simple data sets including grouping data as appropriate.

    • I can analyse large data sets and identify trends where appropriate.

    Progression step 5

    • I can use appropriate programs to produce statistical evidence based on my own collected data/identified scenario and justify reasoning.

  3. Taking measurements with digital probes and sensors

    Assessed: In the exam

    Learners find the pH of solutions with a pH probe or indicator and carry out physiological measurements of heart rate and recovery time after exercise. Digital probes are named as one option alongside non-digital methods.

    DCF: Data and information literacy, Sourcing, searching and planning digital content

    Getting pupils ready

    Year 7
    Pupils test household solutions with universal indicator and then a digital pH probe, record both in a table and discuss which gives the more precise reading.
    Year 8
    Pupils measure resting and post-exercise heart rate with a phone heart rate app and by counting their pulse, then compare the two methods in a shared Excel sheet.
    Year 9
    Pupils log temperature or pH with a probe during a neutralisation, export the readings to Excel, and write two sentences on the benefits and limits of the sensor compared with indicator paper.
    Show the specification wording and the DCF statements

    Where it is in the specification: Unit 1, Section 1.1.2c, page 15

    “use a pH probe or universal indicator to find the pH of a solution”
    Progression step 3

    • I can construct, refine and interrogate data sets within tables, charts, spreadsheets and databases to test or support an investigation.

    Progression step 4

    • I can create a data capture form, capture data, search data and create a database and spreadsheet with appropriate data input method.

    Progression step 5

    • I can use appropriate programs to produce statistical evidence based on my own collected data/identified scenario and justify reasoning.

    • 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.

  4. Using spreadsheet calculations for payback time and carbon footprints

    Assessed: In the exam

    Learners use data to work out the payback time of appliances and electric vehicles, and calculate carbon footprints in kgCO2eq. These repeated calculations suit a spreadsheet model.

    DCF: Data and information literacy, Problem-solving and modelling

    Getting pupils ready

    Year 7
    Pupils use Excel formulae and SUM to work out the energy used in a day by classroom appliances from their power ratings and hours of use.
    Year 8
    Pupils build a spreadsheet that calculates their household's weekly carbon footprint from travel and energy use, using given emission factors and cell references.
    Year 9
    Pupils create an Excel model comparing the running costs of a petrol car and an electric car over ten years and use a line graph to find the payback year.
    Show the specification wording and the DCF statements

    Where it is in the specification: Unit 1, Section 1.3.1b, page 22; Unit 2, Section 2.1.2, page 26

    “use data to determine the payback time of electrical appliances, including electric vehicles.”
    Progression step 3

    • I can use a range of spreadsheet formulae, e.g. + - / x, sum, average, max, min.

    Progression step 4

    • I can create a simple model or self-contained algorithm.

    • I can perform analysis on simple data sets including grouping data as appropriate.

    Progression step 5

    • I can independently create and design models, and explain how they represent real-world problems, e.g. selecting and correctly using an appropriate method for illustrating a problem, such as a flowchart or spreadsheet.

    • I can use appropriate programs to produce statistical evidence based on my own collected data/identified scenario and justify reasoning.

  5. Using data to judge accuracy and precision and to justify conclusions

    Assessed: In the exam and in coursework (NEA)

    Learners evaluate data for accuracy, precision, repeatability and reproducibility, identify random and systematic error, and relate data to hypotheses. This is central to the Unit 3 written task.

    DCF: Data and information literacy

    Getting pupils ready

    Year 7
    Pupils pool class results for a falling paper cone investigation in a shared Excel sheet and highlight any anomalies before writing a conclusion.
    Year 8
    Pupils use conditional formatting in Excel to flag repeat readings that differ by more than a set amount, then decide which ones to retake.
    Year 9
    Pupils compare their group's results with whole-class data in a shared spreadsheet, calculate the range of repeats, and write a conclusion stating how far the data supports their hypothesis.
    Show the specification wording and the DCF statements

    Where it is in the specification: Appendix B, Experimental skills and strategies, page 43

    “be objective and evaluate data in terms of accuracy, precision, repeatability and reproducibility and identify potential sources of random and systematic error”
    Progression step 3

    • I can construct, refine and interrogate data sets within tables, charts, spreadsheets and databases to test or support an investigation.

    Progression step 4

    • I can perform analysis on simple data sets including grouping data as appropriate.

    Progression step 5

    • I can use my data to explain and add validity to conclusions and, where possible, modify conclusions and/or hypothesis.

Good to know

Links with other qualifications

Graph skills in Appendix D overlap with Mathematics, and the climate change and carbon footprint data work overlaps with Geography.

Source: WJEC GCSE Integrated Science (Single Award) specification, teaching from 2026, for award from 2028, © WJEC CBAC Ltd 2025.