Digital, Production, Design & Development

Key Information

Exam Board: Pearson

Graded: Distinction* – Pass

Max UCAS Tariff Points: 168

Course Size: 3x A Level Equivalent 

Official Website: Click Here

Contact Mr J Pountney: Click Here

What will I be studying?

During your 2 year qualification you will study the following topics:

  • Problem solving
  • Programming
  • Emerging issues and impact of digital
  • Legislation and regulatory requirements
  • Business context
  • Data
  • Digital environments
  • Security

What skills will I be learning?

The transferable skills that universities and apprenticeships value including:

  • the ability to learn independently
  • the ability to research actively and methodically
  • being able to give presentations and being active group members
  • reading technical texts
  • effective writing
  • analytical skills
  • creative development
  • preparation for assessment methods used in degrees

Industry Placement

As part of your T Level qualification, you will undertake an Industry Placement for a minimum of 315 hours – roughly 40days. This could be completed one day a week, or in block placements and you don’t have to complete your hours in one place, you are able to do your placement with multiple employers.

At Grace, we will help and support you with your industry placement to ensure that you are able to get the most out of it.

How will I be assessed?

Exams

Paper 1: Digital Analysis, Legislation and Emerging Issues (17% of final grade)

An externally-assessed written examination comprising two sections. You will answer all questions in Section A and Section B. The examination will include short, medium and extended open-response questions, as well as labelling questions. It will include content on:

  • Problem solving
  • Introduction to programming
  • Emerging issues and impact of digital
  • Legislation and regulatory requirements

Paper 2: The Business Environment (17% of final grade)

An externally-assessed written examination comprising two sections. You will answer all questions in Section A and Section B. The examination will include short, medium and extended open-response questions, as well as labelling questions. It will include content on:

  • Business context
  • Data
  • Digital environments
  • Security

Coursework

Employer Set Project (16% of final grade)

You will need to draw on knowledge and understanding form across the core content in a synoptic manner, in order to effectively respond to a brief within a vocational context.

There are five parts to the assessment:

  • Task 1: Planning a project
  • Task 2: Identifying and fixing defects in existing code
  • Task 3: Designing a solution
  • Task 4a: Developing the solution
  • Task 4b: Reflective evaluation

Occupational Specialism Project (50% of final grade)

In this project, students will:

  • Analyse a problem to define requirements and acceptance criteria, aligned to user needs
  • Design, implement and test software
  • Change, maintain and support software
  • Create solutions in a social and collaborative environment
  • Discover, evaluate and apply reliable sources of knowledge
  • Apply ethical principles and manage risks in line with legal and regulatory requirements when developing software

Where might this lead me?

This Technical Qualification aligns to the Software Development Technician Level 3 Apprenticeship and therefore supports progression to entry-level job opportunities in software design and development. Job roles could include:

  • Junior Developer
  • Junior Web Developer
  • Junior Application Developer
  • Junior Mobile App Developer
  • Junior Games Developer
  • Junior Software Developer
  • Junior Application Support Analyst
  • Junior Programmer
  • Assistant Programmer
  • Automated Test Developer

The jobs available to the students will be based on their individual abilities in the digital sector and will be supported by their achievement of this qualification.

For progression to a degree course, for example:

  • BSc (Hons) in Digital Media
  • BSc (Hons) in Web Technologies
  • BSc (Hons) in Information Systems
  • BSc (Hons) Computer Animation