Built Environment

course information

From September 2026, we will be teaching The WJEC GCSE in Built Environment course at Bro Dinefwr. it is a qualification that introduces students to how the built environment is planned, designed, constructed and maintained. It covers the roles and sectors within the construction industry, the materials and technologies used, health and safety, legislation and the processes involved in building and design. The course also helps develop practical, design, problem-solving and employability skills relevant to the built environment sector.

Over the 2 year course, students will get hands on with a wide range of tools and machines when completing several practical assessments. These will be backed up by the completion of research portfolios for each practical assessment.

How Students are assessed.

This GCSE is made up of three units with different methods of assessment:

·         Unit 1: Written Examination (35%)

An assessment (taken on-screen), comprising of a range of question types to assess specification content related to ideas and concepts in the built environment and evidence related to the built environment. 

·         Unit 2: Creating the Built Environment (40%)

NEA based. Learners have a choice of two pathways within Unit 2: designing the built environment or constructing the built environment, from which they select one. The task in each pathway assesses the learner’s knowledge, understanding and skills in relation to identifying, interpreting and calculating information; writing success criteria; carrying out a range of techniques appropriate to the pathway; evaluating tasks.

·         Unit 3: Exploring the built Environment (25%)

NEA based. This case study assesses the learner’s knowledge, skills and understanding in relation to the stages of the building life cycle; the stages and processes involved in the design, construction, value and use of their built environment.

Careers & Progression

Studying GCSE Built Environment can help you progress to further education, apprenticeships, or employment in a wide range of built environment and construction-related careers, such as:

• Architectural Technician / Assistant

• Surveying and Planning

• Construction Management

• Carpentry, Bricklaying and Trade Skills

• Interior Design / Draughtsperson

• Engineering and Civil Construction

• Quantity Surveying

• Urban Planning and Development

The course also builds transferable skills valued by employers: including literacy and numeracy, digital literacy, problem-solving, planning and organisation, which are useful in many other job areas too.