DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY
KEY STAGE 3
Three broad contexts are studied in each year
Year 7
Year 8
Year 9
GCSE
Year 10
D&T: Food Technology: An in-depth study of nutrition and food science and the effects of diet on the individual and society as a whole; delivered through practical experimentation and advanced skills sessions. There are 2 double lessons a week, one of which will always be practically based.
D&T: Product Design: A wide range of design and make projects that will give a colourful and stimulating insight into the world of products, materials, processes and graphics. How design evolved through the 20th century will enlighten the girls to the influences that have shaped their own world of design and fashion.
Year 11
D&T: Food Technology: The focus this year is on the controlled assessment where the girls will work on an extended design and make project chosen from a range set by the examination board.
D&T: Product Design: The focus this year is on the controlled assessment where the girls will work on an extended design and make project chosen from a range set by the examination board.
A LEVEL
Year 12
D&T: Food Technology: The emphasis of this course is human nutrition. The students choose their own topic to study for their coursework, choosing areas that Interest them for example sports nutrition, childhood obesity, Coeliac, diabetes, coronary heart disease, etc. There is a structured program to follow and each student is given direction and guidance, but it is essentially an individual piece of work. Career plans vary between medical, educational and industrial areas of work.
D&T: Product Design: The world of design is broadened out through this course where students will extend their own designing and making skills through a portfolio of projects. Starting with common themes students are encouraged to explore areas of design that are of personal interest to themselves. It is common for the group to contain a wide range of interests including career plans as diverse as Architecture or Engineering to Product Design or Jewellery. Some girls choose this course and go onwards to work with Textiles and Fashion. The underlying nature of this course is design. There is also a written examination that will test general design issues, materials and manufacturing processes.
Year 13
D&T: Food Technology: This year concentrates on using the knowledge of nutrition gained at A/S but studies the chemical structure of all the nutrients. Food manufacture is also introduced at this stage. The students again chose their own topic to study for the coursework, but this time they have to choose a food product suitable for manufacture and develop it to extend its market base or modify its nutritional content.
D&T: Product Design: We aim to generate self-driven, confident young designers. By Year 13 we do expect our students to take more of a lead with their own direction and to choose and develop the area of design that is of interest to them. This is tested through a single long term design project and this will form the controlled assessment. Many students will develop projects that are directly related to their university or career choice. The written examination this year has more of a focus on how the issues learnt in Year 12 apply to products, designing and manufacturing.
