Pearson BTEC Level 1/Level 2 First Award in Art and Design - Issue 5 - Specification and key principles

Oct 20, 2026

Specification for Pearson BTEC Level 1/Level 2 First Award in Art and Design, Issue 5, with first teaching from September 2012. Describes how the qualification is structured and assessed, outlining external assessment alongside portfolio-based teacher-led assessment, plus a robust quality-assurance model. Explains design principles covering standards, quality, breadth and progression with contextualised English and mathematics, and recognition of achievement at level 1. Includes copyright, references, and qualification framework background.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryExam

FormatPDF

Pages128

Reading Time5 h 23 min

AccessFree to download

Overview

BTEC First 2012 specification and introduction

BTECs evolving and design principles

Key design principles

Standards: common core and external assessment

Quality: robust quality-assurance model

Breadth and progression: vocational options and contextualised English and mathematics

Recognising achievement: routes to level 1

Specification ART AND DESIGN From September 2012 Pearson BTEC Level 1/Level 2 First Award in Art and Design Issue 5 Award BTEC FIRST Pearson BTEC Level 1/Level 2 First Award in Art and Design Specification First teaching September 2012 Issue 5 Edexcel, BTEC and LCCI qualifications Edexcel, BTEC and LCCI qualifications are awarded by Pearson, the UK’s largest awarding body offering academic and vocational qualifications that are globally recognised and benchmarked. For further information, please visit our qualifications website at [qualifications.pearson.com. Alternatively](qualifications.pearson.com. Alternatively), you can get in touch with us using the details on our contact us page at [qualifications.pearson.com/contactus](qualifications.pearson.com/contactus) About Pearson Pearson is the world's leading learning company, with 35,000 employees in more than 70 countries working to help people of all ages to make measurable progress in their lives through learning. We put the learner at the centre of everything we do, because wherever learning flourishes, so do people. Find out more about how we can help you and your learners at [qualifications.pearson.com](qualifications.pearson.com) This specification is Issue 5. We will inform centres of any changes to this issue. The latest issue can be found on our website. References to third-party material made in this specification are made in good faith. We do not endorse, approve or accept responsibility for the content of materials, which may be subject to change, or any opinions expressed therein. (Material may include textbooks, journals, magazines and other publications and websites.) ISBN 978 1 446 93606 1 All the material in this publication is copyright © Pearson Education Limited 2020 Welcome to your BTEC First 2012 specification For more than 25 years, BTECs have earned their reputation as well-established, enduringly effective qualifications. They have a proven track record in improving motivation and achievement among young learners . Additionally, BTECs provide progression routes to the next stage of education or into employment. BTECs are evolving Informed by recent policy developments, including the Review of Vocational Education – The Wolf Report (March 2011), we have designed this new suite of BTEC Firsts to: ● ensure high quality and rigorous standards ● conform to quality criteria for non-GCSE qualifications ● be fit for purpose for learners, pre-or post-16, in schools and in colleges. We conducted in-depth, independent consultations with schools, colleges, higher education, employers, the Association of Colleges and other professional organisations. This new suite builds on the qualities – such as a clear vocational context for learning and teacher-led assessment based on centre-devised assignments – that you told us make BTECs so effective and engaging. This new suite introduces features to meet the needs of educators, employers and the external environment. They are fully aligned with requirements for progression – to further study at level 3, into an apprenticeship or into the workplace. We believe these features will make BTEC even stronger and more highly valued. What are the key principles of the new suite of BTEC Firsts? To support young people to succeed and progress in their education, we have drawn on our consultations with you and embedded four key design principles into the new BTEC Firsts. 1 Standards: a common core and external assessment Each new Level 2 BTEC First Award has an essential core of knowledge and applied skills. We have introduced external assessment appropriate to the sector. This provides independent evidence of learning and progression alongside the predominantly portfolio-based assessment. 2 Quality: a robust quality-assurance model Building on strong foundations, we have further developed our quality-assurance model to ensure robust support for learners, centres and a

FAQs

When is the BTEC First art and design specification effective from?

First teaching is from September 2012, and the document is titled as Issue 5 of the specification.

How does the qualification combine external assessment with teacher-led assessment?

The specification sets a predominantly portfolio-based assessment, supported by external assessment that provides independent evidence of learning and progression.

What quality assurance activities are described for learners, centres, and assessors?

The document states that learner work is independently scrutinised via the external assessment process, assessors take part in sampling and quality review, and centres are visited annually to review and support quality processes.

Oct 20, 2026

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