Students must work individually to produce a portfolio containing a chronological account of their design process. The account should be real-time and not follow a fixed structure. There are no limits to the number of pages or portfolio file type, but the portfolio must be relevant and concise.
Video evidence
Students must fully present evidence of their final prototype(s) within their portfolio. There must be sufficient photographic and video evidence of the final prototype. Video must be used to demonstrate any functionality. Where there is no functionality to be demonstrated, photographs alone will suffice, as long as they present a 360° view of the final prototype(s).
At GCSE, centres submitting paper portfolios are encouraged to include video and/or audio clips using a USB so as not to disadvantage their students.
Students may also want to use video and/or audio recordings to communicate their thinking. When creating recordings, students should consider their audience and edit clips so they are concise and clear. This will also minimise the file size of their portfolio.
Video or audio clips can be embedded into a portfolio presentation although this can make the presentation file size very large. Alternatively, you can attach videos separately in an electronic folder, making sure each video is clearly labelled and signposted from the student’s portfolio.
Please note that if you’re using the OCR Repository, the maximum file size is 600MB.
It is important to test videos on different computers to make sure the moderator will be able to access them. Any corrupted videos or links will not be accepted as valid evidence.
The use of specialist tools and equipment
Students must demonstrate evidence of the use of hand tools, machinery, digital design and digital manufacture. Evidence of this does not need to be demonstrated through the making of the final prototype(s), but can be taken from earlier modelling and prototyping. If there is no evidence for one of these requirements in the portfolio, marks cannot be awarded above MB1. Where evidence for any of the four requirements is limited, the marking should reflect this.
Further details can be found in the specifications: