WJEC GCSE Electronics: Component 3 system design and realisation overview

Component 3 of WJEC Eduqas GCSE Electronics is the non-exam assessment (NEA): the extended system design and realisation task. It is a practical project worth 20% of the GCSE, in which you design, build, test and evaluate your own electronic system. This page is a concise overview; the engineering knowledge it uses is covered across Components 1 and 2.

What the task covers

The extended system design and realisation task. Analysing a problem, writing a design specification with measurable criteria, developing and testing sub-systems, building and testing the complete system, and evaluating it against the specification. See Extended system design task overview.

How it is assessed

Component 3 is the non-exam assessment, worth 20% of the GCSE (the two written papers are worth 40% each). It is assessed from the project work you produce: a report covering analysis, the specification, development, realisation and evaluation, with evidence of testing and the built circuit. The other components are Discovering Electronics (Component 1) and the applied topics of Component 2.

How to approach it

1. Analyse first. Understand the problem before designing.
2. Write measurable criteria. A clear specification guides the build and the final evaluation.
3. Work in sub-systems. Design and test input, process and output blocks separately, then combine.
4. Build and test on real hardware. Use prototype board, stripboard or PCB, testing at each stage.
5. Evaluate honestly. Check the finished system against every specification point and suggest improvements.

For the official specification

WJEC Eduqas publishes the full GCSE Electronics specification, the NEA assessment criteria, past papers and mark schemes at wjec.co.uk. Always work from the current specification and your centre's guidance for the non-exam assessment, because the controlled-assessment rules and mark allocations are board-specific.