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This information applies to AS and A Level Design and Technology (H004-H006, H404-H406) and GCSE Design and Technology (9-1) (J310).
In order to complete the GCSE and AS Design and Technology non-exam assessment (NEA), contexts are published each year as follows:
These are made available in the Assessment sections of the qualification pages on our website and in the Assessment > NEA/Coursework sections on Teach Cambridge.
At A Level, candidates create their own project from an authentic context. This context should be flexible, allowing them to respond to any identified needs, problems or opportunities, as appropriate.
All assessment must be completed and marks submitted to us by the deadline 15 May in the year of submission.
Once you have submitted your marks to us, you will receive a moderation sample request within one to two days. You then have three working days to submit the sample – either online via Submit for Assessment or via post, depending on the option you chose when you made your entries.
See the non-exam assessment page for more information.
Your sample must include the following for each candidate. These are discussed in more detail below.
Moderation cannot take place until your moderator receives all forms and portfolios for those in the sample. Any delay may also delay your students’ results.
We recommend you make the completion of the candidate declaration form a requirement of your internal submission process. The forms for those in the sample must be submitted with their work. Other forms should be retained within your centre until the end of the post-results period.
The form allows students to declare their portfolio is their own work as well as acknowledging the support and feedback they have received from others.
In addition, teachers must complete a centre authentication form (CCS160). These should be retained within your centre until the end of the post-results period.
You should use the candidate record form to record your marking, your own observations and the location of the evidence applied to each assessment criteria. You must follow all the instructions on the front of the document.
When completing your observations on the candidate record form, you must signpost the evidence that supports your marking to make sure it is not missed during the moderation process.
Please see the support materials on the qualification pages which show how students can identify the evidence themselves, making the task of completing the form more straightforward for you.
Teachers should share any observations that support their marking, clarifying when and how support was given to a student, or on students’ levels of independence. You can also outline considerations that have been made as a result of qualification requirements not being fully met, or make it clear how or why a student has carried out their project in a different way.
Teachers should select their best fit judgements on each of the marking criteria by ticking the most appropriate mark/mark band. The form automatically calculates the marks for each assessment strand, reducing the risk of a calculation error. However, it is important to check a mark has been selected for each criterion, as any missing judgments will automatically be given 0 marks. If there is no evidence to support any of the criteria, you should select 0 marks.
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.
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.
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.
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: