CCEA GCSE Agriculture and Land Use: complete guide to the units, the controlled assessment and the exams
A complete guide to CCEA GCSE Agriculture and Land Use (2019). Covers Unit 1 (Soils, Crops and Habitats), Unit 2 (Animals on the Land) and Unit 3 (the Controlled Assessment on contemporary issues), how the written exams and coursework are structured and weighted, and how to study each topic for top grades.
CCEA GCSE Agriculture and Land Use (2019) is a single GCSE set and marked by CCEA in Northern Ireland. It is made of two written units and a controlled assessment, and it gives students an understanding of soils, crops, habitats, farm animals, the agri-food industry and the environment. This page is the index: below is a map of the five study modules, the exam and coursework structure, and how to study each one.
The CCEA units and study modules
CCEA organises the content into Unit 1 Soils, Crops and Habitats, Unit 2 Animals on the Land and Unit 3 Controlled Assessment. We have grouped the specification content into five study modules that follow the CCEA content closely, and each module has an overview guide and a focused answer page for every examinable topic.
- Soils and plant production
- The science foundation: soil composition and types, soil nutrients and the nitrogen cycle, protected cultivation and hydroponics, germination and plant structure, photosynthesis and life cycles, and flowers and pollination (Unit 1). Start with the Soils and plant production overview.
- Crop production
- Growing crops and grass: common crops, grasses and weeds, silage and grassland management, crop yield and GM crops, and producing a farm crop from field to supermarket (Unit 1). Start with the Crop production overview.
- Agriculture and the environment
- Looking after the land: habitats and biodiversity, conservation and the countryside, renewable energy and climate change, and the agri-food industry and careers (Unit 1). Start with the Agriculture and the environment overview.
- Animal production
- Keeping farm animals: animal welfare and health signs, breeding and reproduction, animal health and disease, and animal nutrition and digestion (Unit 2). Start with the Animal production overview.
- Farming business and the environment
- The business and impact of farming: food production and processing, farm economics, farm health and safety, and pollution and farm waste (Unit 2). Start with the Farming business and the environment overview.
Exam and coursework structure
CCEA GCSE Agriculture and Land Use is assessed by two written units and one controlled assessment.
- Unit 1 Soils, Crops and Habitats is an externally assessed written examination with compulsory structured questions.
- Unit 2 Animals on the Land is an externally assessed written examination with compulsory structured questions.
- Unit 3 Controlled Assessment, Contemporary Issues in Agriculture and Land Use, is a task set by CCEA, completed under controlled conditions, marked by the centre and moderated by CCEA.
The two written papers carry the larger share of the marks and the controlled assessment the rest. The written questions use structured short-answer, data and calculation and longer extended-writing questions, set directly from the specification content. Always check the current CCEA specification and assessment pages for the exact weightings and timings in your exam year.
The Unit 3 Controlled Assessment (overview)
Unit 3, Contemporary Issues in Agriculture and Land Use, asks students to investigate a current issue affecting the industry, using a task and stimulus material released by CCEA each year. Students research, analyse and evaluate information under controlled conditions and produce a written response, which is marked against CCEA's assessment criteria and moderated. This page covers the examinable knowledge in the two written units in depth; the controlled assessment is the applied, research-based component that draws on that knowledge.
How to study each module
Work statement by statement against the CCEA content, because questions are written directly from it. For each topic: learn the definitions precisely, link each farming practice to a clear reason (soil type to crop, NPK to growth, the five freedoms to welfare), rehearse every process as an ordered sequence (the nitrogen cycle, germination, pollination, the digestive systems), and drill the maths (profit margins, dry matter, yields and data). Then use CCEA past papers to practise the exact question styles and command words, and prepare thoroughly for the Unit 3 controlled assessment.
Pick a module overview above to begin, then work through each topic answer page and finish with the matching quiz.
Agriculture & Land Use guides
In-depth written guides with paired practice quizzes.
- CCEA GCSE Agriculture and Land Use: Agriculture and the environment overview
An overview of the agriculture and the environment module of CCEA GCSE Agriculture and Land Use (Unit 1), mapping habitats and biodiversity, conservation and the countryside, renewable energy and climate change, and the agri-food industry and careers, and how they are examined on the Unit 1 paper.
6 min readRead → - CCEA GCSE Agriculture and Land Use: Animal production overview
An overview of the animal production module of CCEA GCSE Agriculture and Land Use (Unit 2), mapping animal welfare and health signs, breeding and reproduction, animal health and disease, and animal nutrition and digestion, and how they are examined on the Unit 2 paper.
6 min readRead → - CCEA GCSE Agriculture and Land Use: Crop production overview
An overview of the crop production module of CCEA GCSE Agriculture and Land Use (Unit 1), mapping common crops, grasses and weeds, silage and grassland management, crop yield and GM crops, and producing a farm crop from field to supermarket, and how they are examined on the Unit 1 paper.
6 min readRead → - CCEA GCSE Agriculture and Land Use: Farming business and the environment overview
An overview of the farming business and the environment module of CCEA GCSE Agriculture and Land Use (Unit 2), mapping food production and processing, farm economics, farm health and safety, and pollution and farm waste, and how they are examined on the Unit 2 paper.
6 min readRead → - CCEA GCSE Agriculture and Land Use: Soils and plant production overview
An overview of the soils and plant production module of CCEA GCSE Agriculture and Land Use (Unit 1), mapping soil composition and types, soil nutrients and the nitrogen cycle, protected cultivation and hydroponics, germination and plant structure, photosynthesis and life cycles, and flowers and pollination, and how they are examined on the Unit 1 paper.
7 min readRead →
Agriculture & Land Use practice quizzes
Multiple-choice drills with worked answer explanations. Your scores stay on this device.
- CCEA GCSE Agriculture and Land Use agriculture and the environment quiz14 questionsStart →
- CCEA GCSE Agriculture and Land Use animal production quiz14 questionsStart →
- CCEA GCSE Agriculture and Land Use crop production quiz14 questionsStart →
- CCEA GCSE Agriculture and Land Use farming business and the environment quiz14 questionsStart →
- CCEA GCSE Agriculture and Land Use soils and plant production quiz16 questionsStart →
The CCEA-GCSE system, explained
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