GCSE Electronics Topics by Exam Board: Full List

way, you can be ready for what’s coming. Or, if you’re still deciding on your GCSEs you can make a fully informed choice. 

This guide breaks down the GCSE Electronics topics by exam board. Use it as your ultimate revision checklist so you never miss anything important.

Key Takeaways

• Only one exam board offers GCSE Electronics: WJEC/Eduqas is currently the only provider in the UK

• Three assessment components: Two written exams (80% total) plus one practical project (20%)

• Clear topic structure: The course splits into two main theory units covering everything from basic circuits to microcontrollers

• Use this full topic list as your revision map: Tick off topics as you master them and identify weak spots that need more attention

Which Exam Boards Offer GCSE Electronics?

Here's the deal: WJEC/Eduqas (opens in a new tab) is the only exam board that currently offers GCSE Electronics. If you're studying this subject in the UK, you're doing the Eduqas specification.

How is the Course Structured?

Your GCSE Electronics splits into three components:

Component 1: Discovering Electronics (40%)

• 1 hour 30 minutes written exam

• Covers foundational topics like circuits, resistors, switching and logic

Component 2: Application of Electronics (40%)

• 1 hour 30 minutes written exam

• Covers advanced topics like op-amps, timing circuits, counters and microcontrollers

Component 3: Extended System Design and Realisation Task (20%)

• Non-exam assessment (NEA) - a practical project

• You'll design, build and test your own electronic system

Both written exams include synoptic questions, meaning you'll need to draw on knowledge from across the entire specification—not just that one paper.

Full Topic List: WJEC/Eduqas GCSE Electronics

Here's every topic you need to know, broken down by component. Use this as your master checklist.

Component 1: Discovering Electronics

1. Electronic Systems and Sub-Systems

• System structure: Sensing, processing and output sub-systems

• Input sensors: Light, temperature, magnetic field, pressure, moisture, sound, rotation sensors

• Processing units: Logic gates, latches, time delays, comparators

• Output devices: Lamps, buzzers, solenoids, LEDs, servos, motors, loudspeakers

• Transducer drivers: Why you need them and how to use them

• Designing and testing complete electronic systems

2. Circuit Concepts

• Circuit symbols: Drawing and interpreting standard symbols

• Current and voltage rules: Series and parallel circuits

• Test equipment: Using multimeters, oscilloscopes, logic probes and timing equipment

• Circuit analysis: Voltage, current, resistance, energy and power

• Key equations: V = IR, P = VI, P = I²R, E = Pt

• Current-voltage characteristics of components

3. Resistive Components in Circuits

• Resistors in series and parallel: Calculating total resistance

• Resistor codes: Colour codes and E24 series

• Voltage dividers: Design and analysis with input sensors

• Input components: LDRs, NTC thermistors, pressure sensors, moisture sensors, sound sensors, switches, potentiometers

• Pull-up and pull-down resistors: Providing correct logic levels

• Current-limiting resistors: Protecting LEDs in DC circuits

4. Switching Circuits

• MOSFETs: n-channel enhancement mode operation and use

• Transistors: npn transistor switching behaviour

• Voltage comparators: IC-based switching circuits

• Comparing different switching methods

• Using data sheets to design switching circuits

• Interface circuits for outputs

5. Applications of Diodes

• Silicon diodes: I-V characteristics and behaviour

• Component protection: Using diodes in DC circuits

• Rectification: Half-wave rectifiers for AC circuits

• Zener diodes: Voltage regulation circuits

6. Combinational Logic Systems

• Logic levels: Understanding 1/0 as high/low states

• Logic gates: NOT, AND, OR, NAND, NOR gates

• Truth tables: Creating and analysing them

• Boolean algebra: Basic identities and simplification

• NAND gate redundancy: Simplifying logic circuits

• Designing logic systems to solve problems

• Using data sheets to select logic ICs

Component 2: Application of Electronics

1. Operational Amplifiers

• Amplifier basics: How amplifiers increase power/voltage

• Gain calculations: Using G = V_OUT / V_IN

• Bandwidth: Gain-frequency graphs and trade-offs

• Op-amp circuits: Non-inverting, inverting and summing configurations

• Clipping distortion: How it affects output signals

• Mixers: Summing amplifier applications

• Amplifier systems: Block diagrams from signal source to loudspeaker

2. Timing Circuits

• RC networks: Creating time delays with resistor-capacitor circuits

• Charging and discharging: Voltage-time graphs and decay curves

• 555 timer IC: Monostable and astable configurations

• Monostable operation: Pulse duration calculations (T = 1.1RC)

• Astable operation: Frequency, period and mark-space ratio

• Using oscilloscopes to measure timing circuit outputs

3. Sequential Systems

• D-type flip-flops: Rising-edge-triggered operation in data transfer, latches and counters

• Timing diagrams: Drawing and interpreting them

• Binary counters: 1-bit and 2-bit designs

• BCD and decade counters: Operation and timing

• 7-segment displays: Truth tables for displaying characters

• Decimal counting systems: BCD counter, decoder/driver and 7-segment display combinations

• Sequencers: 4017 decade counter applications

• Designing custom counting sequences with reset functions

4. Interfacing Digital to Analogue Circuits

• Schmitt inverters: Debouncing switches and analogue sensors

• Interface comparison: Transistors vs comparators vs Schmitt inverters

• Designing interface circuits between sensors and outputs

5. Control Circuits

• Microcontrollers: Definition as programmable ICs

• Interfacing: Connecting sensors and outputs to microcontrollers

• Flowchart programming: Designing and analysing programs

• Real-world applications: Microcontrollers in vehicles and domestic appliances

• Why microcontrollers have become standard technology

Component 3: Non-Exam Assessment (NEA)

This is your practical project worth 20% of your GCSE. You'll complete an extended design task independently, which includes:

Project Requirements

• Problem analysis: Identify and analyse a real-world problem or opportunity

• Design specification: Create measurable criteria for your solution

• Sub-system development: Design and test individual circuit sections

• System realisation: Build and test the complete physical circuit

• Evaluation: Compare the final system against your specification and suggest improvements

What You'll Submit

• A detailed project report covering planning, development, realisation and evaluation

• Photographs of your completed physical circuit

• Evidence of testing at each stage

• Annotated circuit and block diagrams

• A user guide for your system

Construction Methods

You can build on prototype board, strip board or printed circuit board (PCB). Pre-made boards like Arduino or PIC development boards aren't allowed as your final circuit—you need to design and build it yourself.

How to Use This GCSE Electronics Topic List for Revision

This list isn't just for reading—it's your action plan. Here's how to make it work for you:

1. Print it out or save it digitally
Turn this into a working checklist. Tick off topics as you master them.

2. Identify your weak spots
Go through the list honestly. Which topics make you nervous? Those are the ones to prioritise.

3. Link each topic to resources
For every topic on this list, Save My Exams has a GCSE Electronics guide, past papers and practice questions written by real examiners and expert teachers. Use them to target exactly what you need to revise.

4. Test yourself regularly
Don't just read your notes. Use practice questions to check you actually understand. Make flashcards and test yourself. Active recall is far more effective than passive reading.

5. Build in spaced repetition
Don't cram everything at once. Revisit topics multiple times over several weeks. This is spaced repetition. Research demonstrates (opens in a new tab) that it is far more effective than cramming. 

6. Use Smart Mark for feedback
When practising questions, get instant feedback on where you went wrong and how to improve. Save My Exams' Smart Mark tool gives you personalised, exam-specific guidance—much more helpful than generic AI tools that don't know your exact course.

Where to Find Official Specs

Always good to go straight to the source. Here's where to find the official WJEC/Eduqas Electronics specification:

WJEC Eduqas GCSE Electronics Specification (PDF)

This document includes:

• Full subject content for all three components

• Mathematical requirements and equations

• Electronic symbols you need to recognise

• Assessment objectives and mark schemes

• NEA assessment criteria

Keep a copy handy for reference when revising or planning your NEA project.

Frequently Asked Questions

What's the difference between WJEC and Eduqas Electronics?

They're the same course. WJEC and Eduqas are both brands of the same exam board (WJEC CBAC Ltd (opens in a new tab)). The Electronics specification is badged as "WJEC Eduqas" but it's one qualification. If your school entered you for "Eduqas GCSE Electronics," you're doing the WJEC spec.

Can I switch exam boards if I prefer one topic list?

Not really an option here. Since WJEC/Eduqas is the only board offering GCSE Electronics, there's no alternative to switch to. If you're studying Electronics at GCSE level, this is the specification you're following—no matter which school or centre you're with.

Are practical skills part of GCSE Electronics?

Absolutely. Practical work is a massive part of this qualification. Throughout the course, you'll be building circuits, testing components and using equipment like multimeters and oscilloscopes.

Plus, 20% of your final grade comes from the NEA—your practical project where you design and build a working electronic system from scratch. So yes, you need hands-on skills, not just theory knowledge.

How do I know if I've covered everything?

Use this topic list as your master checklist. Go through each item systematically:

• Can you explain what it means?

• Can you apply it in a circuit?

• Can you answer exam questions on it?

If you can tick "yes" to all three, you've covered it properly. If not, that's a revision priority.

Also, work through past papers on Save My Exams. If a topic keeps tripping you up in questions, you haven't fully mastered it yet—even if you think you understand the theory.

Final Thoughts

Having a clear view of every single topic you need to learn makes revision so much easier. Instead of panicking about "what might come up," you can systematically work through this list, ticking off topics as you go.

Use this guide as your roadmap. Pair it with high-quality, exam-board-specific resources from Save My Exams—written by real examiners who know exactly what gets marks. Focus on the topics where you're weakest, test yourself regularly with practice questions, and use Smart Mark to get feedback that will really help you improve.

You've got this. One topic at a time, one practice question at a time. Master what matters, and you'll walk into your exams confident and prepared.

References 

• Eduqas GCSE Electronics Specification (opens in a new tab)

• Evidence of the Spacing Effect and Influences on Perceptions of Learning and Science Curricula - PMC (opens in a new tab) 

• WJEC (opens in a new tab)