How is Eduqas GCSE Art and Design structured, and what are the seven endorsed titles?
The structure of Eduqas GCSE Art and Design: a practical, portfolio-assessed course with no written exam, offered as seven endorsed titles (Art Craft and Design, Fine Art, Critical and Contextual Studies, Textile Design, Graphic Communication, Three-Dimensional Design, Photography), assessed by two components against four objectives.
How Eduqas GCSE Art and Design is structured: a practical, coursework-assessed course with no written exam, offered as seven endorsed titles and assessed by two components (Portfolio 60 percent, Externally Set Assignment 40 percent) against four objectives.
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What this dot point is asking
Eduqas GCSE Art and Design is a practical, portfolio-assessed course with no written exam, offered as seven endorsed titles and assessed by two components against four objectives. This dot point sets out how the whole qualification is built: the assessment model, the seven titles, the two components and the objectives, so you understand the framework every other page sits inside before you plan your work.
A practical, portfolio-assessed course
Eduqas GCSE Art and Design is a two-year practical qualification with no written exam paper. Your grade comes entirely from the work you make and how you present your development, judged against the four assessment objectives. Centres mark the work internally using the Eduqas assessment grid, and Eduqas externally moderates a sample to confirm the standard. Because the assessment is holistic, the moderator forms a single best-fit view of your work against all four objectives rather than ticking isolated boxes.
The seven endorsed titles
Art and Design is offered as seven endorsed titles. They all share the same four objectives, the same two-component structure and the same marks, but each focuses on a different field of practice. Your centre enters you for one title.
The two components
The whole grade comes from two components, both portfolio-based.
- Component 1, the Portfolio (60 percent). A sustained, independent selection of practical and contextual work built up during the course on themes your centre sets. It is the larger component, worth 72 marks.
- Component 2, the Externally Set Assignment (40 percent). A response to a paper of starting points released by Eduqas, with a preparatory period and a final outcome made in 10 hours of supervised time. It is worth 48 marks.
Both are judged holistically against all four objectives, so the same skills (investigation, experimentation, recording, resolution) are rewarded in each.
The four assessment objectives in brief
Everything is marked against four equally weighted objectives, each 25 percent: AO1 develop ideas through investigation, AO2 refine by exploring media, AO3 record observations, and AO4 present a personal response. They are the marking scheme for both components, which is why the rest of the course is organised around evidencing them. In the Portfolio each objective is worth 18 marks; in the Externally Set Assignment each is worth 12.
Try this
Q1. State the two components of Eduqas GCSE Art and Design with their weightings, and say whether there is a written exam. [Knowledge recall]
- Cue. Component 1 the Portfolio (72 marks, 60 percent) and Component 2 the Externally Set Assignment (48 marks, 40 percent); there is no written exam, and the only timed element is the 10-hour supervised period for the Component 2 final outcome.
Q2. Explain how a candidate taking Art, Craft and Design differs from one taking Fine Art. [Short explanation]
- Cue. The objectives, marks and structure are identical; Art, Craft and Design is the broad title requiring practice from more than one specialist area, whereas Fine Art is a single specialism (drawing, painting, printmaking, sculpture, lens-based media as fine art) studied with depth.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of WJEC Eduqas exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
Eduqas specification6 marksState how Eduqas GCSE Art and Design is assessed, name its two components with their weightings, and say whether there is a written exam.Show worked answer →
A recall task. Award marks for the assessment method, the two components with weightings, and the absence of a written exam.
Eduqas GCSE Art and Design is assessed entirely by portfolio coursework, internally marked by the centre and externally moderated by Eduqas. There is no sit-down written exam.
The two components are Component 1, the Portfolio, worth 72 marks and 60 percent, and Component 2, the Externally Set Assignment, worth 48 marks and 40 percent.
A strong answer adds that both components are judged holistically against all four assessment objectives, and that the only timed, supervised element is the 10 hours of sustained focus for the Externally Set Assignment final outcome.
Eduqas Art, Craft and Design8 marksExplain what the endorsed titles in Eduqas Art and Design are and how a candidate choosing Fine Art differs from one choosing Art, Craft and Design.Show worked answer →
An explanation task rewarding understanding of how titles shape a course.
The endorsed titles. Eduqas offers the subject as seven titles that share the same four objectives and two-component structure but focus on different specialist practices: Art, Craft and Design, Fine Art, Critical and Contextual Studies, Textile Design, Graphic Communication, Three-Dimensional Design and Photography. A centre enters a candidate for one title.
Fine Art. A Fine Art candidate works within a defined specialism (drawing, painting, printmaking, sculpture, lens-based media used as fine art) and is expected to show depth in that field.
Art, Craft and Design. The broad title requires evidence drawn from more than one specialist area, so the candidate combines practices (for example fine art with graphics or three-dimensional work) rather than staying in one.
A strong answer notes that the objectives and marks are identical across titles, so the difference is the breadth and focus of practice the title expects, not the assessment.
Related dot points
- Component 1 the Portfolio: a sustained selection of practical and contextual work showing the journey from starting points through development to one or more finished outcomes, worth 72 marks and 60 percent, assessed holistically against all four objectives.
What the Eduqas Portfolio (Component 1) requires: a sustained selection of practical and contextual work showing development from starting points to finished outcomes, worth 72 marks and 60 percent, assessed holistically against all four objectives.
- Component 2 the Externally Set Assignment: a response to an Eduqas-set paper of starting points, with a preparatory period followed by a 10-hour supervised final outcome, worth 48 marks and 40 percent, assessed holistically against all four objectives.
What the Eduqas Externally Set Assignment (Component 2) requires: a response to an Eduqas-set paper of starting points, with a preparatory period and a 10-hour supervised final outcome, worth 48 marks and 40 percent, assessed against all four objectives.
- Structuring a sustained project: building a coherent line of enquiry from a starting point through investigation, recording, experimentation and development to a resolved outcome, so the work reads as a connected journey across the four objectives.
How to structure a sustained Eduqas project: building a coherent line of enquiry from a starting point through investigation, recording, experimentation and development to a resolved outcome that reads as a connected journey across the four objectives.
- How the marks and grades work: the 120-mark total split 72 (Portfolio) and 48 (Externally Set Assignment), each judged holistically against the four objectives, internally marked against the Eduqas bands and externally moderated, with the total graded 9 to 1.
How marks and grades work in Eduqas GCSE Art and Design: the 120-mark total split 72 (Portfolio) and 48 (Externally Set Assignment), judged holistically against four objectives, internally marked against the bands and externally moderated, graded 9 to 1.
- AO1 develop ideas through investigations demonstrating critical understanding of sources: building a focused line of enquiry from contextual and first-hand sources, weighing and responding to each source rather than copying, and letting investigation keep deepening across the project.
What AO1 rewards in Eduqas GCSE Art and Design: developing ideas through investigation and critical understanding of sources, built into a focused line of enquiry that weighs and responds to sources rather than copying, deepening across the project.
- Analysing an artwork: looking beyond description to examine how the formal elements, media, process, content and context create meaning, and forming a personal critical response that can feed your own work.
How to analyse an artwork in Eduqas GCSE Art and Design: looking beyond description to how the formal elements, media, process, content and context create meaning, and forming a personal critical response that feeds your own work.
Sources & how we know this
- WJEC Eduqas GCSE in Art and Design specification (from 2016) — Eduqas (2016)
- GCSE subject content for art and design — Department for Education (2015)