GCSE Design & Technology specification
GCSE Design and Technology is the single, unified successor to the old separate D&T subjects (Resistant Materials, Graphic Products, Textiles, etc.). Students learn to design and make prototypes that solve real and relevant problems, drawing on core technical principles across a breadth of materials, plus deeper specialist knowledge in a chosen area, and applying maths and science in a design context.
A 50/50 split between a single written examination and non-exam assessment (NEA). The written exam is worth 50% (AQA and Edexcel: 2 hours, 100 marks; OCR: 2 hours; Eduqas: 2 hours) and covers core and specialist technical principles plus designing and making principles, with at least 15% of marks assessing maths and at least 10% assessing science applied in a design-and-technology context. The NEA is worth 50% (100 marks) and is a single substantial design-and-make task (around 30–35 hours) responding to contextual challenges released annually by the board (typically from 1 June of the year before assessment), producing a design portfolio and a working prototype, assessed against AO1–AO3.
High-level topics
The main areas of content and what a student is expected to know and do.
Breadth knowledge all students must hold: new and emerging technologies; energy generation and storage; developments in materials (modern/smart materials, composites, technical textiles); systems approaches; mechanical devices; and the properties/working of materials and components.
Greater-depth knowledge in chosen material categories - papers and boards, timber-based materials, metals, polymers, textiles, and electronic/mechanical systems - covering sources, properties, stock forms, scales of production, shaping, joining and finishing.
Investigation/primary and secondary data, environmental/social/economic challenges, the work of others, design strategies, communication of ideas, prototype development, selection of materials and components, tolerances, material management and specialist tools/equipment and techniques.
How technologies, automation, enterprise and emerging trends influence the design and manufacture of products and their wider social, ethical and environmental impact.
Energy generation and storage, modern/smart/composite materials, systems thinking (input–process–output), and mechanical devices that produce different types of movement.
Sources, origins, physical and working properties of papers/boards, timbers, metals, polymers and textiles, and how these are selected and processed for purpose.
Applied mathematics (at least 15% of exam marks) - e.g. ratio, scale, percentages, measurement, geometry and data handling - and science (at least 10%) applied to materials, forces and energy within design problems.
Analysing existing products, the work of past and present designers and companies, and using primary and secondary data to identify needs, wants and design opportunities (AO1).
Developing a design brief and specification, generating and developing ideas, communicating through sketching/modelling/CAD, and manufacturing a fully functioning prototype to high quality (AO2).
Analysing and evaluating design decisions, prototypes (own and others') and wider issues in design and technology, testing against the specification and refining outcomes (AO3).
Exam boards
The awarding bodies that offer this qualification, how their papers are structured, and what's distinctive about each - with links to the official specification.
AQA GCSE Design and Technology
Papers & assessment
Written exam (Paper, 2 hours, 100 marks, 50%) covering core technical principles, specialist technical principles and designing and making principles; plus NEA - a single design-and-make task (100 marks, 50%, approx. 30–35 hours) producing a design portfolio and prototype. Min 15% maths, min 10% science.
What's distinctive
A single unified specification with no separate material endorsements on the certificate; students choose a specialist material area for depth and the NEA. Written paper has a mix of multiple-choice, short-answer and extended-response questions, with the first section on core principles.
Specification
Past papers & mark schemes
Pearson Edexcel GCSE (9–1) Design and Technology
Papers & assessment
Component 1 written exam (2 hours, 100 marks, 50%) with a core section taken by all and a material-category section; Component 2 NEA - a non-examined design-and-make task (100 marks, 50%) responding to a contextual challenge. Min 15% maths, min 10% science.
What's distinctive
Students follow one of six material-category routes for the exam's second section - Metals (1DT0/1A), Papers and boards (1B), Polymers (1C), Systems (1D), Textiles (1E), Timbers (1F) - though the qualification title remains the unified Design and Technology.
Specification
Past papers & mark schemes
OCR GCSE (9–1) Design and Technology
Papers & assessment
J310/01 Principles of Design and Technology written paper (2 hours, 50%), in two sections with a minimum 15% of marks assessing maths in a DT context; plus J310/02 + J310/03 Iterative Design Challenge NEA (design-and-make, 50%). Min 15% maths, min 10% science.
What's distinctive
OCR frames its NEA explicitly as an 'iterative design challenge' emphasising a cyclical explore–create–evaluate process, and splits the NEA across two unit components.
Specification
Past papers & mark schemes
WJEC Eduqas GCSE (9–1) Design and Technology
Papers & assessment
Component 1 written exam (2 hours, 100 marks, 50%) covering core knowledge and a chosen material/technology area; Component 2 NEA - a sustained design-and-make activity (100 marks, 50%) with marks for investigating possibilities, developing brief/specification, generating and developing ideas, and making/evaluating. Min 15% maths, min 10% science.
What's distinctive
Highly practical, iterative emphasis (modelling, testing, improving); Eduqas is the only board offering in-person visiting moderation for the NEA. Material areas chosen for the exam include timbers, metals, polymers, papers and boards, textiles and electronic systems. WJEC is the Qualifications-Wales-approved Welsh version.
Specification
Past papers & mark schemes
Since the 2017 reform all boards offer a single unified Design and Technology GCSE - no longer separate Resistant Materials / Graphics / Textiles titles - and all share the Ofqual-mandated 50% written exam + 50% NEA design-and-make split, untiered, with at least 15% maths and 10% science assessed in the written paper, and an NEA driven by contextual challenges released around 1 June. The differences are in structure and emphasis: AQA (8552) is the most 'generic' single paper with a specialist material chosen for depth; Edexcel (1DT0) splits the exam into a common core plus one of six explicit material-category papers (Metals, Papers and boards, Polymers, Systems, Textiles, Timbers); OCR (J310) brands its NEA as an 'iterative design challenge' across two unit components and stresses the design cycle; Eduqas/WJEC emphasises a practical, iterative design-and-make approach and is the only board offering in-person visiting moderation of the NEA. All include broadly the same core technical principles (new/emerging technologies, energy, materials, systems, mechanical devices) plus deeper specialist material knowledge.
Original sources
Straight from the awarding bodies - the specifications these summaries are drawn from.
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