FAQs - Wales 14–16 Qualifications

First live assessment is planned from January 2028. 

Open Awards does. 

Once all three Component Outcomes have been confirmed, Open Awards automatically applies the published 40:20:40 weighting to calculate the overall Qualification Outcome. 

Yes. Teaching and assessment can take place throughout the academic year. 

Open Awards operates three termly submission, quality assurance and results cycles. These determine when completed assessment enters the Open Awards results process rather than restricting providers to specific assessment windows. 

No. There is no mandatory order. 

Providers should schedule assessments when learners are ready. Component 3 may naturally be completed later because it requires learners to apply mathematical skills developed across the qualification, but this is not compulsory. 

For Components 2 and 3, providers can use an Open Awards-developed assessment or an approved provider-devised version. 

Provider-devised assessments must meet the relevant Assessment Setting Specification. Initial provider-devised versions are subject to Open Awards approval before first live use.

Component 3 requires learners to use mathematical and numeracy skills within an integrated practical context. 

The assessment takes approximately 3–4 hours of supervised assessment time and may be completed across several sessions within a maximum two-week period.  

Component 2 is a supervised assessment of up to 50 minutes. 

Learners engage with information and source materials and undertake practical data activities requiring interpretation and decision-making. The assessment is designed as a connected task rather than a traditional examination split into separate sections. 

Providers mark Component 1 using the Open Awards mark scheme and complete Internal Quality Assurance. 

Open Awards then moderates provider marking. Awarding is undertaken where required to confirm the numerical boundaries for an assessment version. 

Component 1 is an Open Awards-set assessment of underpinning mathematical knowledge, skills, reasoning and application. 

It is completed under controlled conditions using two tiers: 

• Tier 1: Entry Level 1–Entry Level 2 – 60 minutes 

• Tier 2: Entry Level 3–Level 1 – 80 minutes.  

There are three mandatory components: 

• Component 1 – Number, Calculation, Measure and Geometry: 40% 

• Component 2 – Data and Statistics: 20% 

• Component 3 – Applied Mathematics and Numeracy: 40% 

Learners must achieve at least Entry Level 1 Pass in every component before an overall Qualification Outcome can be generated.