WJEC Eduqas GCSE Food Preparation & Nutrition specification (C560)
Understanding the exam specification is key to doing well in your WJEC Eduqas GCSE Food Preparation & Nutrition 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 WJEC Eduqas GCSE Food Preparation & Nutrition 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 WJEC Eduqas GCSE Food Preparation & Nutrition (C560) 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 WJEC Eduqas specification PDF.
Specification overview
The WJEC Eduqas GCSE in Food Preparation & Nutrition equips learners with the knowledge, skills and understanding needed to cook and apply principles of food science, nutrition and healthy eating. It enables students to make informed food choices and develop the ability to plan, prepare and cook a variety of foods safely and effectively. The course promotes innovation and balance between practical skills and theoretical understanding, focusing on diet, nutrition, health, food science, provenance and culinary traditions. Students also explore ethical, environmental and cultural influences on food and develop the ability to evaluate and modify recipes.
Subject content breakdown
1. Food commodities
- Study major food groups (e.g. cereals, dairy, meat, plant proteins, fats/sugars).
- Understand their dietary value, storage, characteristics, cooking behaviour and origins.
- Experiment and prepare dishes using commodities, exploring physical/chemical changes.
2. Principles of nutrition
- Understand macronutrients (protein, fat, carbohydrate) and micronutrients (vitamins, minerals, trace elements).
- Know their roles, sources, reference values, effects of deficiency/excess, and how they interact.
- Include water and dietary fibre in nutritional analysis.
3. Diet and good health
- Understand RDI and energy needs across life stages and dietary requirements (e.g. coeliac, diabetes, vegetarian).
- Analyse and plan diets using current nutritional guidelines.
- Calculate energy/nutrient values of recipes, meals, diets; apply modifications to improve health.
4. The science of food
- Understand reasons for cooking, heat transfer methods, and how cooking affects nutrition/sensory qualities.
- Explore the use of micro-organisms (e.g. in cheese, yoghurt, fermented products).
- Study functional properties of ingredients (e.g. gelatinisation, emulsification, denaturation).
- Understand causes and prevention of food spoilage, food poisoning, and the impact of poor hygiene.
5. Where food comes from
- Study food origins, miles, packaging, sustainability, food security, and food poverty.
- Explore British and international cuisines, traditional and modern recipe variations.
- Understand primary/secondary processing, impact on nutrition/sensory qualities, food modification and additives.
6. Cooking and food preparation
- Understand sensory qualities, food choices, and consumer information (e.g. labelling, marketing).
- Plan and prepare dishes using appropriate skills and techniques across skill groups.
- Modify recipes to suit dietary/lifestyle needs, using sensory testing, cost/time management, and justify methods and outcomes.
Assessment structure
Component 1: Principles of Food Preparation and Nutrition
- Written exam: 1 hour 45 minutes
- 50% of qualification (100 marks)
- Section A: stimulus-based compulsory questions
- Section B: structured, short and extended response questions
Component 2: Food Preparation and Nutrition in Action
- Non-exam assessment: 50% of qualification (100 marks)
- Assessment 1: Food Investigation (8 hours, 15%)
- Investigate the working characteristics of ingredients via practical experiments
- Produce a 1,500–2,000 word report
- Assessment 2: Food Preparation (12 hours, 35%)
- Plan, prepare, cook and present 3 dishes in a 3-hour session
- Complete research, planning, evaluation and produce a 15-page folio
Assessment Objectives
- AO1: Knowledge and understanding – 20%
- AO2: Application – 30%
- AO3: Practical preparation and presentation – 30%
- AO4: Evaluation and analysis – 20%
Exam availability
- Assessments available in May/June annually
- Qualification awarded at end of course
Key tips for success
Doing well in your WJEC Eduqas GCSE Food Preparation & Nutrition 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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