Is this a GCSE?
This course is a Level 2 Cambridge National – this is the OCR equivalent of a BTEC. That means that you will be studying a GCSE equivalent course that includes a large amount of coursework. Although this is not a GCSE, it is equivalent to a full GCSE and is accepted by colleges and 6th forms in the same way as a level 2 BTEC.
A Level 2 course is equivalent to a GCSE Pass at grade 4 – 9, where level 1 is a pass at grades 1 – 4.
Our Cambridge Nationals are high quality, vocational qualifications aimed at 14-16 year old students. They are designed to meet the Department for Education’s characteristics for Technical Awards and for inclusion on secondary schools’ performance tables.
OCR (2021), Understanding Cambridge Nationals Qualifications
Why is The Title of The Course Creative iMedia and Not Games Design?
Creative iMedia is the formal title of the course, but there are a range of different options for units of study which allow you to study different aspects from animation & comics to digital media. We have chosen the optional units for this course to enable you to study the optional units for games design and development.
Can I study different optional units?
At present, we are only offering the games design & a smaller animation path in collaboration with JQS Learning, but are looking at supporting other optional paths in the future.
What Will My Results Look Like?
Unlike GCSEs which use a 9-1 system for grades, Cambridge Nationals use a similar grading system to BTEC, but allow you to access a full range of Pass to Distinction at both Level 1 & 2. The table below shows the grade boundaries that are used for the whole course (all three units) after adjustments have been made for UMS.
UMS is an adjustment to the grade boundaries each year to ensure that students are fairly assessed even though exam papers are different.
| L2 Distinction* | L2 Distinction | L2 Merit | L2 Pass | L1 Distinction | L1 Merit | L1 Pass | Ungraded | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GCSE Equivalent | 9 / 8 | 7 | 6 / 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | U |
| Grade Boundary (average after UMS) | 90% | 80% | 70% | 60% | 50% | 40% | 30% | 0% |
How Is The Course Structured?
Just like a GCSE, you will be studying for 120 guided learning hours (this is the time to complete the online lessons, live groups, and homework) plus an additional 30 hours of Non-Examined Assessment or NEA (you may know this as coursework).
Our course is divided over two years with 34 weeks in year 1 and 30 weeks in year 2. Each academic year runs between September and June.
The full course is divided into three units – you must complete all of these to sit the qualification.
Unit 1 (R094) : Visual Identity and Digital Graphics – Non-Examined Assessment (10 – 12 hours) : 25% of the course
Unit 2 : Digital Games (R099)– Non-Examined Assessment (12 – 15 hours) – 35% of the course
Unit 3 : Creative iMedia in the Media Industry (R093) – Written Exam (1 hour 30 mins) : 40% of the course
From 2022, all new vocational courses will be restructured to require you to sit the exam at the end of the course after all other units are completed (this is not just for the iMedia course).
In the diagram above, you will see when each of the units will be completed with an option to resit coursework units just once.
Are Registration & Exam Costs Included in the Course?
As we are not an exam centre, we cannot offer registration. Instead, we have partnered with Tutors & Exams to offer a discounted partner rate for exam registration. The cost of the Creative iMedia course is for tuition and NEA marking/authentication only.
Your exam must be sat at an approved exam centre and coursework must be submitted to the exam board through them too. As this is a vocational course, we must be approved by the exam centre to offer Cambridge Nationals and as such can only accept students who are registered with Tutors & Exams centres for this exam.
