D&T

What will the exam be like? 

Exam board:  

AQA 8552 

Assessment:  

The Design and Technology GCSE is assessed via a combination of exam and non-examined assessment (NEA). The exam is made up of a combination of multiple-choice questions and longer answer questions. 

Exam: 

  • 2 hours 
  • 100 marks 
  • 50% of GCSE 
  • Covers the following topics: 
  • Core technical principles (20 marks) 
  • Specialist technical principles (30 marks) 
  • Designing and making principles (50 marks) 

Non-Exam Assessment (NEA) 

  • 30–35 hours approx. 
  • 100 marks 
  • 50% of GCSE 

This is a substantial design and make task, it is assessed using the following criteria: 

  • Identifying and investigating design possibilities 
  • Producing a design brief and specification 
  • Generating design ideas 
  • Developing design ideas 
  • Realising design ideas 
  • Analysing & evaluating 

The NEA will focus on ‘Contextual challenges’ provided by AQA on June 1st of Year 10 

Students will produce a prototype and a portfolio of evidence. Their work will be marked by teachers and moderated by AQA 

 

What specialist equipment will my child need? 

There is no specific specialist equipment required for the Design and Technology course. 

 

What revision guides do you recommend?  

These are optional to buy (and other versions are also available), but we would suggest purchasing some of these to use alongside your course. We will write to parents in the first term of year 10 offering the chance to purchase the following: 

  • Collins AQA GCSE 9-1 Design & Technology Revision & Practice  

  • Collins AQA GCSE Design and Technology (ISBN 9780008227401) 

Downloads

Page Downloads Date  
GCSE revision Design Technology.pdf 12th Mar 2018 Download
GCSE revision DT Food Preparation and Nutrition.pdf 12th Mar 2018 Download