AQA GCSE Art & Design: Textile Design specification (8204)
Understanding the exam specification is key to doing well in your AQA GCSE Art & Design: Textile Design exam. It lays out exactly what you need to learn, how you'll be assessed, and what skills the examiners seek. Whether you're working through the course for the first time or revising for your final exams, the specification helps you stay focused and confident in your preparation.
We've included helpful revision tools to support you in putting the specification into practice. Wherever you're starting from, you'll find everything you need to feel prepared, from the official specification to high-quality resources designed to help you succeed.
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In the next section, you'll find a simplified summary of the official AQA GCSE Art & Design: Textile Design specification, along with a breakdown of key topics, assessment structure, and useful study resources. We've also included links to topic-level guides and revision tools to help you put the specification into practice.
Contents
Disclaimer
This page includes a summary of the official AQA GCSE Art & Design: Textile Design (8204) specification, provided to support your revision. While we've made every effort to ensure accuracy, Save My Exams is not affiliated with the awarding body.
For the most complete and up-to-date information, we strongly recommend consulting the official AQA specification PDF.
Specification overview
AQA GCSE Art & Design: Textile Design gives students the opportunity to explore creativity through designing and producing textiles for functional or decorative purposes. The course nurtures students’ ability to investigate, experiment, and refine ideas while engaging with media, techniques, and processes relevant to textile practice. It encourages both critical understanding and the development of technical skills, supporting personal expression and engagement with a range of contexts. The course prepares students for further study or creative careers by fostering confidence, independence, and a thorough appreciation of textile design’s role in society, culture, and the creative industries:contentReference[oaicite:0]{index=0}.Subject content breakdown
3.7 Textile Design
- Focuses on creating designs and products for woven, knitted, stitched, printed, or decorative textiles.
Areas of Study
- Art textiles
- Fashion design and illustration
- Costume design
- Constructed textiles
- Printed and dyed textiles
- Surface pattern
- Stitched and/or embellished textiles
- Soft furnishings and/or textiles for interiors
- Digital textiles
- Installed textiles
Knowledge and Understanding
- Understand cultural, social, historical, contemporary, environmental, and creative contexts.
- Explore personal needs or external requirements such as client expectations.
- Communicate ideas using:
- Figurative/non-figurative representations, stylisation, simplification, surface embellishment, construction, imaginative interpretation.
- Visual/tactile elements: colour, line, form, tone, texture, shape, pattern, composition, decoration, repetition, scale, structure, surface.
Skills
- Techniques and processes:
- Weaving, felting, stitching, appliqué, construction methods, printing.
- Media and materials:
- Inks, yarns, threads, fibres, fabrics, textile materials, digital imagery:contentReference[oaicite:1]{index=1}.
Assessment structure
Component 1: Portfolio
- Must include a sustained project showing development from initial engagement to realisation.
- Can also include additional work such as experiments, workshops, visits, or independent study.
- Must address all four assessment objectives.
- No time limit, marked out of 96 (60% of GCSE).
- Assessed by the centre, moderated by AQA.
Component 2: Externally Set Assignment
- A choice of seven starting points provided by AQA.
- Preparatory period begins 2 January, followed by 10 hours supervised time.
- Must address all four assessment objectives.
- Marked out of 96 (40% of GCSE).
- Assessed by the centre, moderated by AQA.
Assessment Objectives (equally weighted)
- AO1: Develop ideas through investigations and critical understanding of sources.
- AO2: Refine ideas through exploration and experimentation.
- AO3: Record ideas, observations, and insights with annotation.
- AO4: Present a personal, meaningful response that realises intentions.
Marking and Weighting
- Each component marked out of 96, scaled (Component 1 ×3; Component 2 ×2).
- Total scaled mark out of 480.
- Quality of making underpins all assessment objectives:contentReference[oaicite:2]{index=2}.
Key tips for success
Doing well in your AQA GCSE Art & Design: Textile Design isn't just about how much you study, but how you study. Here are a few proven tips to help you stay on track
- Start with a clear plan: Break the subject into topics and create a revision schedule that allows enough time for each. Start early to avoid last-minute stress.
- Focus on understanding, not memorising: Use our revision notes to build a strong foundation in each topic, making sure you actually understand the material.
- Practise regularly: Attempt past papers to familiarise yourself with the exam format and timing. Mark your answers to see how close you are to full marks.
- Be strategic with your revision: Use exam questions by topic to focus on weaker areas, and flashcards to reinforce important facts and terminology.
- Learn from mistakes: Whether it's from mock exams or practice questions, spend time reviewing what went wrong and why. This helps prevent repeat mistakes in the real exam.
- Stay balanced: Don't forget to take regular breaks, eat well, and get enough sleep, a healthy routine makes revision much more effective.
With the right approach and consistent practice, you'll build confidence and improve your chances of exam success.
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