DCF Cymru Digital competence for Wales

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GCSE The Sciences

The Sciences (Double Award) names digital tools in a few places: digital technology for rates of reaction, digital simulations of radioactive decay and pH probes, each offered as one option among non-digital methods. Its real digital load is data: collecting, graphing, analysing and evaluating primary and secondary data across six examinations and two externally marked practical enquiries, plus judging how the media reports science. The single biggest thing KS3 should build is confident spreadsheet use to record, graph, calculate and model from practical data.

Awarding body
WJEC
Level
Level 1 and Level 2
First taught
September 2026
Amount of digital work
Medium
Specification
Open the specification
How this qualification is assessed
  • Unit 1: Biology, Basis of Life: Written examination (tiered), 1 hour 15 minutes, 56 marks, 14.3%
  • Unit 2: Chemistry, Chemical Substances and How They Behave: Written examination (tiered), 1 hour 15 minutes, 56 marks, 14.3%
  • Unit 3: Physics, Forces, Motion and the Universe: Written examination (tiered), 1 hour 15 minutes, 56 marks, 14.3%
  • Unit 4: Biology, Continuity of Life: Written examination (tiered), 1 hour 15 minutes, 64 marks, 15.7%
  • Unit 5: Chemistry, Chemical Bonding, Reactions and Resources: Written examination (tiered), 1 hour 15 minutes, 64 marks, 15.7%
  • Unit 6: Physics, Waves, Electricity and Energy: Written examination (tiered), 1 hour 15 minutes, 64 marks, 15.7%
  • Unit 7: Scientific Enquiry: Two enquiries from a choice of three, each a practical task (1 hour) and a written task (1 hour), 28 marks each (56 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 while judging and improving its quality, and plot two variables from experimental data. This is assessed in all units and in both Unit 7 enquiries.

    DCF: Data and information literacy

    Getting pupils ready

    Year 7
    During a melting ice practical, pupils enter their temperature readings into a prepared Excel table and insert a line graph with axis titles and units.
    Year 8
    Pupils plan their own Excel results table for an osmosis investigation with potato chips, including units and repeats, and choose a suitable chart.
    Year 9
    Pupils record results for a resistance of a wire investigation in Excel, calculate means and resistance with formulae, and plot a scatter graph with a trendline.
    Show the specification wording and the DCF statements

    Where it is in the specification: Section 2, Scientific Enquiry Skills, SE5, page 10

    “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. Logging data with digital sensors and probes

    Assessed: In the exam

    Learners investigate rates of reaction by gas collection, loss of mass and precipitation, using digital technology where appropriate, and use a pH probe or indicator to find pH (Unit 5, Section 5.2.1, page 49).

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

    Getting pupils ready

    Year 7
    Pupils record the temperature of cooling water every 30 seconds with a digital thermometer and a liquid thermometer and compare how easy each is to read.
    Year 8
    Pupils record the mass of a flask of marble chips and acid on a digital balance every 30 seconds, typing readings straight into Excel to produce a mass loss graph.
    Year 9
    Pupils run a rate of reaction practical with a data logger and temperature or light sensor, export the data to Excel, and compare it with manual readings, noting benefits and limitations.
    Show the specification wording and the DCF statements

    Where it is in the specification: Unit 2, Section 2.3.2, page 25

    “investigate the rate of reaction using gas collection, loss of mass and precipitation (including use of digital technology, where appropriate)”
    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.

  3. Analysing graphs: gradients, rates and decay curves

    Assessed: In the exam and in coursework (NEA)

    Learners calculate speed and acceleration from motion graphs (Unit 3, Section 3.1.3, page 30), interpret the slope of rate graphs, and find half-life from decay curves. Appendix D lists plotting two variables and finding gradients and intercepts.

    DCF: Data and information literacy

    Getting pupils ready

    Year 7
    Pupils plot a distance-time graph in Excel from timings of a trolley rolling along the bench and describe what a steeper line shows.
    Year 8
    Pupils plot a cooling curve in Excel, read values between the plotted points, and add a trendline to help spot anomalous readings.
    Year 9
    Pupils plot mass loss against time for a reaction in Excel, add a linear trendline to the early section, and compare the gradients for two acid concentrations.
    Show the specification wording and the DCF statements

    Where it is in the specification: Unit 6, Section 6.1.3, page 57; Appendix D, page 78

    “determine the half-life of a radioisotope from a decay curve or data”
    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 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.

  4. Using spreadsheet calculations to compare costs and payback time

    Assessed: In the exam

    Learners calculate payback time for insulation from data and compare cost-effectiveness over different time periods. Repeating the calculation for several options and years suits a spreadsheet model.

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

    Getting pupils ready

    Year 7
    Pupils use Excel formulae to work out the weekly running cost of school appliances from their power, hours of use and a unit price.
    Year 8
    Pupils build a spreadsheet comparing the yearly cost of boiling a full kettle and a half-full kettle, using cell references so the price can be changed.
    Year 9
    Pupils model loft, cavity wall and double glazing payback in Excel over 20 years, filling formulae down and using a line graph to show which pays back first.
    Show the specification wording and the DCF statements

    Where it is in the specification: Unit 3, Section 3.2.2, page 32

    “calculate the payback time for different types of insulation from data and compare cost-effectiveness over different time periods.”
    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. Gathering, presenting and interpreting secondary data sets

    Assessed: In the exam and in coursework (NEA)

    Learners gather and present secondary data while evaluating it, for example drawing conclusions about Solar System objects from given data (Unit 3, Section 3.5.1, page 37) and interpreting data on factors affecting population size (Unit 1, Section 1.4.2, page 20).

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

    Getting pupils ready

    Year 7
    Pupils sort and filter a teacher-provided Excel table of planet data to answer questions such as which planets are colder than Earth.
    Year 8
    Pupils download Met Office historic data for a Welsh weather station and graph monthly rainfall and temperature to describe seasonal patterns.
    Year 9
    Pupils compare a large data set, such as UK carbon dioxide emissions by year, from two websites, spot differences and judge which source is more trustworthy.
    Show the specification wording and the DCF statements

    Where it is in the specification: Section 2, Scientific Enquiry Skills, SE6, page 10

    “Gather and present secondary data, while evaluating data”
    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 adjust keywords and search techniques to find relevant information.

    Progression step 4

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

    • I can search a variety of sources using relevant search techniques with increased complexity.

    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.

  6. 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 underpins the Unit 7 written tasks.

    DCF: Data and information literacy

    Getting pupils ready

    Year 7
    Pupils share results for the same experiment in a class Excel sheet and discuss why different groups got different values.
    Year 8
    Pupils calculate the mean and range of repeat readings with Excel formulae and use the range to say how precise their results are.
    Year 9
    Pupils compare their data with whole-class data in a shared spreadsheet, identify likely random and systematic errors, and write a conclusion on whether 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 75

    “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, the scientific enquiry demands match GCSE Integrated Science, and the climate and weather data work overlaps with Geography.

Source: WJEC GCSE The Sciences (Double Award) specification, teaching from 2026, for award from 2028, © WJEC CBAC Ltd 2025.