Joint position statement on digital assessment in new GCSEs

New GCSEs for 14-16 learners have been designed to reflect and support the Curriculum for Wales. This includes the alignment of the subject content and the assessment methods of the qualifications, as well as the learning experiences they will enable. Developing digital competencies, knowledge and skills, and fostering a wider digital culture, are important components of delivering the Curriculum for Wales. In addition, within learning across wider curriculum areas, the use of digital technology can provide rich contexts for developing knowledge, understanding and skills. 

A range of digital devices are used widely within classrooms and other settings, enabling innovative approaches to teaching, learning and assessment. As the use of digital technologies by learners and practitioners has become more embedded, we have identified how these tools can support the delivery of National GCSEs. There will be a wider breadth of assessment approaches within National GCSEs, including a greater use of digital technology. Qualifications Wales, the Welsh Government and WJEC are working jointly to support schools to deliver, and have equitable access to, digital assessments within these qualifications. 

New GCSEs have been co-created with a broad range of stakeholders, including teachers. Development groups for each subject were asked to consider the most valid assessment approaches for their subjects, including their consideration of the most likely approaches to teaching and learning in the context of the Curriculum for Wales. Where digital-only assessments are being introduced, they will be in areas where the assessment method supports WJEC to design highly valid assessments and which will allow learners to demonstrate their learning in familiar ways. These assessments will also be able to better meet the expectations of learners who use and experience digital technologies in an increasing number of ways in their lives, both within and outside of learning.  

It is important to note that digital-only assessments are not featured in all GCSEs. The changes are being introduced in a phased way, beginning with one new digital-only assessment in summer 2026. The digital assessment page on the Qualifications Wales website summarises the subjects where digital-only assessments are being introduced and the timing of their introductions.  

In these qualifications, WJEC is building on more than 15 years’ experience in designing and delivering digital assessments in GCSE subjects such as food and nutrition, digital technology and health and social care, and childcare, as well as in other GCE A level and vocational qualifications. WJEC has published specifications and sample assessment materials for all National GCSEs, which are available on the WJEC website. By visiting subject pages, sample digital-only examinations can be viewed, which demonstrate WJEC’s approach. In GCSE Drama, for example, extracts for drama texts are built into the platform, as is audio-visual material and a notepad function. In GCSE Music, there are embedded audio clips, sheet music and lyrics sheets. These enhancements support not only the validity of the assessments but also their potential for engaging learners.  

Digital provision
The increase in digital assessment in qualifications is taking place in a context in which the Welsh Government has invested over £228 million in schools to transform their digital landscape, recognising the necessity of robust digital infrastructure to facilitate digital learning. This investment has provided over 320,504 devices for learners and practitioners since 2020 to support equity of access to digital technology. 

In collaboration with local authorities, this investment has supported the Hwb programme to challenge and change the digital landscape in schools. The programme is developing a fully sustainable, standardised and consistent approach to digital as a critical utility. It provides equitable access to local authorities and schools to incorporate high-quality, safe, and reliable education technology and digital services, which are appropriate for use in an education setting. 

Through this investment, the Welsh Government wants to empower schools to harness the transformational benefits of digital and technology in education. This will enable and inspire practitioners to enhance the delivery of the Curriculum for Wales and support our learners to confidently embed digital skills.  

The Welsh Government is committed to continue supporting education technology provision through funding provided by the Hwb EdTech Funding Programme. In the financial year 2025/26, the Welsh Government has invested £12 million in schools' digital provision. In addition to this funding, the education digital standards were created in 2019 in partnership with local authorities to assist schools in understanding, managing and implementing their digital environment. The standards provide guidance on how schools should future-proof their digital environment to meet the needs of a more digitally-focused curriculum. In planning and preparing to deliver digital assessments, schools are strongly encouraged to work collaboratively with their local authority to develop and maintain their provision of education technology. When working with local authorities, schools should consider the digital devices and equipment that will be used for digital assessments, and the environments in which the assessments will be taken. 

Equity and accessibility
Some schools in Wales are already familiar with delivering digital examinations through existing general qualifications in which they feature. However, some schools may be less familiar and there is an overall increase in the amount of digital assessment. Qualifications Wales’ integrated impact assessments in 2023 and 2024 recognise potential impacts on manageability and on learners from disadvantaged backgrounds. This is why the Welsh Government, Qualifications Wales and WJEC are working closely together throughout the implementation of National Qualifications. 

Through this work, we have produced guidance to support centres in developing their centre-level readiness and readiness for delivering digital-only examinations . These guidance documents can now be used actively by centres to make further progress in their readiness. The documents offer guidance on areas such as assessing the range of devices available, considering the use of digital technologies in learning and formative assessment, and using external documents, including from JCQ, to identify suitable assessment environments within the school setting. These documents can also be a useful tool for supporting collaboration between schools and local authorities as planning and preparation for digital assessments progresses.  

Following Qualifications Wales’ integrated impact assessment, consideration has been given to the pace and scheduling of change. As shown on Qualifications Wales’ website, the changes are being introduced over a multi-year period, supporting centre manageability. In 2025/26, there will be only one new digital assessment, in GCSE Computer Science; five more digital-only assessments in 2026/27; and a further five in summer 2028. A digital assessment will also be introduced in GCSE Health and Social Care at a later date, with further information to be provided in due course. In March 2026, Qualifications Wales announced that digital assessments in four humanities subjects will now be introduced after 2031, providing clarity about the first five years of delivery for these new GCSEs, and allowing centres more time to focus on digital assessments with confirmed introduction dates.  

To deliver digital assessments securely, and ensure fairness for all learners taking a digital-only examination, WJEC works closely with Surpass, whose assessment software is used by them to deliver on-screen assessments and provided to schools. WJEC recognises that schools in Wales use a range of digital device types and is working with Surpass on the introduction of a new version of the examination software. This new version will mean that centres and learners will be able to use Google Chromebooks, as well as Windows devices, to deliver digital-only examinations. These software changes are currently being implemented so that Google Chromebooks can be used widely in summer 2027, with supporting guidance to follow. For summer 2026, we recommend that centres continue to plan to use Windows devices for digital-only examinations. This development is supporting centres to make the best use of the range of existing digital technologies in their settings.  

Across its qualifications, WJEC also works closely with schools to support learners to access assessments. The Surpass software used by WJEC offers some built-in and compatibility features that support learners with additional learning needs. For example, learners will be able to: 

The readiness guidance documents and WJEC’s sample assessment materials can be useful references when exploring how far these tools meet the needs of individual learners. However, learners may require other reasonable adjustments to support the overall accessibility of the assessment. Centres can continue to liaise with WJEC, as per the existing process, to identify and agree any other reasonable adjustments. 

Resilience
There are measures in place by WJEC to promote the resilience of digital assessments and mitigate against negative impacts on learners and centres that could result from technical disruption. For example, centres will be able to pre-download digital-only examinations, so that in the event of an interrupted internet connection at the start time of an examination, there will be no delay to learners being able to commence their assessments and proceed as planned. Detailed, step-by-step guidance is available through WJEC’s secure Surpass website after an account has been created with WJEC. Throughout a digital-only examination, the system will synchronise a learner’s response every 30 seconds – to a secure online storage area if a connection is available, or locally if not – meaning that there would be minimal impact on a learner’s progress should an individual device fail unexpectedly. In the event of technical disruption, WJEC’s e-assessment team will work closely with centres to provide support and guidance. 

Qualifications Wales, WJEC and the Welsh Government will continue to work closely throughout the implementation of digital assessments in new GCSEs. The organisations will engage with schools, local authorities and other key stakeholders to provide guidance and support, and respond to feedback and input.