New digital moderation option for GCSE, AS and A Level Art and Design
08 September 2026
Following feedback from centres, we’re introducing a new optional digital moderation method for submitting digitally produced Art and Design portfolios.
From the June 2027 series onwards, the submission options for our Art and Design qualifications are:
- visiting moderation
- digital upload
If you choose the digital upload option, you will submit students’ work using our Submit for Assessment service via My Cambridge.
What are the entry restrictions?
Centres must enter for the same submission method (either digital or visiting moderation) for all specialisms at GCSE (J170–J176), or AS and A Level (H200–H206 and H600–H606). It is not possible to enter for digital upload for one specialism and visiting moderation for another.
The new digital upload option is only available where work is produced digitally by all candidates. We also cannot accept photographs or scans of physical work.
This means you must enter for visiting moderation if:
- students have produced physical portfolios
- students have produced a mix of digital and physical work across one or more specialisms at GCSE or AS/A Level
Examples
As an example, if you have GCSE Photography students who have all produced digital portfolios and GCSE Fine Art students, with a mix of physical and digital work, you must enter for visiting moderation for both specialisms.
Alternatively, if you have GCSE Photography students who have all produced digital portfolios and A Level Fine Art students who have produced a mix of physical and digital work, you can enter for digital moderation for the GCSE cohort and visiting moderation for the A Level cohort.
Updated specifications and entry code booklet
To reflect this change, we are updating our specifications for GCSE, AS and A Level Art and Design. We will provide links once these are available.
The entry codes booklet for 2026/27 will also include the digital upload option codes for our Art and Design qualifications, again, we'll provide a link once this is available on our website.
If you have any queries, please call our Customer Support Centre on 01223 553998 or email us at art&design@ocr.org.uk.
Qualifications