General administration

You can find information about all aspects of administration, as well as all the forms you need, at aqa.org.uk/examsadmin

Entries and codes

You only need to make one entry for each qualification – this will cover all the question papers, non-exam assessment and certification.

Every specification is given a national discount (classification) code by the Department for Education (DfE), which indicates its subject area.

If a student takes two specifications with the same discount code, further and higher education providers are likely to take the view that they have only achieved one of the two qualifications. Please check this before your students start their course.

Qualification title AQA entry code DfE discount code
AQA Advanced Level GCE in Design and Technology: Product Design 7552 TBC

This specification complies with:

  • Ofqual General conditions of recognition that apply to all regulated qualifications
  • Ofqual GCE qualification level conditions that apply to all GCEs
  • Ofqual GCE subject level conditions that apply to all GCEs in this subject
  • all other relevant regulatory documents.

The Ofqual qualification accreditation number (QAN) is 603/1133/2.

Overlaps with other qualifications

There is overlapping content in the AS and A-level Design and Technology: Product Design specifications. This helps you teach the AS and A-level together.

Awarding grades and reporting results

The A-level qualification will be graded on a six-point scale: A*, A, B, C, D and E.

Students who fail to reach the minimum standard for grade E will be recorded as U (unclassified) and will not receive a qualification certificate.

Re-sits and shelf life

Students can re-sit the qualification as many times as they wish, within the shelf life of the qualification.

Previous learning and prerequisites

There are no previous learning requirements. Any requirements for entry to a course based on this specification are at the discretion of schools and colleges.

However, we recommend that students should have the skills and knowledge associated with a GCSE Design and Technology: Product Design or equivalent.

Access to assessment: diversity and inclusion

General qualifications are designed to prepare students for a wide range of occupations and further study. Therefore our qualifications must assess a wide range of competences.

The subject criteria have been assessed to see if any of the skills or knowledge required present any possible difficulty to any students, whatever their ethnic background, religion, sex, age, disability or sexuality. Tests of specific competences were only included if they were important to the subject.

As members of the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ) we participate in the production of the JCQ document Access Arrangements and Reasonable Adjustments: General and Vocational qualifications. We follow these guidelines when assessing the needs of individual students who may require an access arrangement or reasonable adjustment. This document is published at jcq.org.uk

Students with disabilities and special needs

We're required by the Equality Act 2010 to make reasonable adjustments to remove or lessen any disadvantage that affects a disabled student.

We can make arrangements for disabled students and students with special needs to help them access the assessments, as long as the competences being tested aren't changed. Access arrangements must be agreed before the assessment. For example, a Braille paper would be a reasonable adjustment for a Braille reader.

To arrange access arrangements or reasonable adjustments, you can apply using the online service at aqa.org.uk/eaqa

Special consideration

We can give special consideration to students who have been disadvantaged at the time of the assessment through no fault of their own – for example a temporary illness, injury or serious problem such as family bereavement. We can only do this after the assessment.

Your exams officer should apply online for special consideration at aqa.org.uk/eaqa

For more information and advice visit aqa.org.uk/access or email accessarrangementsqueries@aqa.org.uk

Working with AQA for the first time

If your school or college hasn't previously offered our specifications, you need to register as an AQA centre. Find out how at aqa.org.uk/becomeacentre

Private candidates

This specification is not available to private candidates.

Use of calculators

Students may use a calculator in the exam. They must ensure that their calculator meets the requirements as set out in the JCQ Instructions for conducting examinations. These instructions make it clear what the requirements are for calculators (what they must be) and what they are not (what they must not be). The instructions are regularly updated and can be found at jcq.org.uk