How is Design Technology a sacred subject?
Why is the study of Design and Technology at All Saints important?
Design and Technology at All Saints is a practical and creative subject. It enables students to actively contribute to the creativity, culture, wealth and well-being of themselves, our community and our nation. It teaches students how to take risks and so become more resourceful, innovative, enterprising and capable. Our students will develop a critical understanding of the impact of design and technology on daily life and the wider world. Additionally, it provides excellent opportunities for them to develop and apply value judgments of an aesthetic, economic, moral, social, and technical nature both in their own designing and when evaluating the work of others.
What skills will the study of Design and Technology teach our students?
Design and Technology applies knowledge, skills and understanding from within the subject itself, and also a wide range of other sources such as science and mathematics. Design and Technology teaches our students to:
– Develop resilience by not being afraid of challenges when solving problems, but to break them down and keep trying.
– Be creative in developing solutions to real world problems.
– Use modelling and annotated sketches to develop and communicate ideas.
– How to act responsibly within a practical environment thinking of the safety of yourself and others.
– Identify how to competently use a range of practical techniques across a range of disciplines.
– Apply and use CAD/CAM equipment to design and manufacture a range of products /components considering scale of production and precision.
– Work independently and part of a team to solve complex problems.
– Construct reasoned arguments to ethical, social and moral problems that have arisen due to technology and communicate these effectively.
– Identify links between different materials and contextual references.
– Test, evaluate and refine ideas and products against a specification, taking into account the views of intended users and other interested groups.
Understand and apply the principles of nutrition and health.
– Cook a repertoire of predominantly savoury dishes so that they are able to feed themselves and others a healthy and varied diet.
– Become competent in a range of cooking techniques e.g. selecting and preparing ingredients: using utensils and equipment, applying heat in different ways: awareness of taste, texture and smell to decide how to season dishes and combine ingredients, adapting and using their recipes.
– Understand the source, seasonality and characteristics of a broad range of ingredients.
What will I be learning in Design and Technology?
Pupils have the opportunity to combine practical and intellectual skills with an understanding of aesthetic, technical, cultural, health, social, emotional, economic, industrial and environmental issues. As they do so, they evaluate present and past Design and Technology and its uses and effects. Through Design and Technology, students develop confidence in using practical skills and become discriminating users of products. STEM features high in Design and Technology and we positively and actively support all aspects around Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.
The Design and Technology curriculum at All Saints is rich, broad and balanced and challenges students to be innovative thinkers by teaching them about a variety of design approaches, such as, iterative design, collaborative design and user-centred design students which will help them to generate creative ideas, avoiding stereotypical responses and design fixation. The Technology curriculum is focussed on embedding challenge, metacognition, memory techniques and literacy skills. We build the Cultural Capital of our students by ensuring they have an understanding of Britain’s contemporary design practice and design heritage, as well as a knowledge of international design practice. We encourage wider reading and the exploration of academic theory of design. In Design Technology we have carefully planned progression through our rigorous curriculum along with opportunities to revisit knowledge previously covered. The curriculum also forms cross curricular links with other subjects such as the arts, science and maths and by recognising that Design Technology is the bridge to many other subjects helps to develop a more creative and innovative approach to designing.
The Design and Technology curriculum at key stage three operates on a carousel where students will experience fifteen separate projects over the period of three years. Each project is themed and starts off with a Design Brief that students will solve as they work their way through the project developing skills and learning knowledge along the way.
What will I be learning in Design and Technology in Year 7?
The key focus in Year 7 is to allow students to explore the core materials and ingredients that underpin the curriculum. Students will understand the origins and characteristics of the materials / ingredients they are using and how to correctly use the tools, machinery and equipment safely and confidently. Students will undertake five projects within Year 7 which all have a design brief to give students the opportunity to problem solve:
Sweet Tooth:
This project is based around our local connections with Nestle and Rowntree. Students are asked to look at the history around this industry by designing a confectionary product for today’s climate. Each student will look at branding, marketing and different communication techniques such as orthographic drawing, isometric, one and two point perspective. Once students have designed their confectionary they will produce a prototype chocolate bar with matching packaging and marketing.
Mad Hatters Tea Party:
This project is based around the film of Alice in Wonderland and allows students to experience foods that are loosely linked to this theme. The aim of this project is to give Year 7 students the opportunity to learn where food comes from, how to cook a range of dishes safely and hygienically and to apply their knowledge of healthy eating.
Woodbot Robot:
This project is an introduction for students into the workshop / practical area. The project is based around the film ‘Robots’ where students are challenged to design and make a model of a robot to be sold in toy stores around the world. Students will be guided through the Faculty Expectations and policies put in place to ensure every student knows the code of conduct. Students will use the key machines and tools that will be used throughout their 5 years at All Saints and will leave with their H&S passport signed off if they have met our expectations when using machines and equipment. Throughout the project students will be guided through the design process by analysing the design problem, writing their own specification and responding to this by designing different solutions.
Make your mark:
This project challenges students to design a textile based product for IKEA aimed at keeping rooms tidy. Students will understand the different types of fabrics, where they are from and how to change the fabric to become visually more appealing. Students will learn how to use textiles equipment such as sewing machines safely and confidently to bring their ideas to life.
Bridge It:
This project is based around structures where students are challenged to work in teams to design, construct and test their own structure whilst taking into consideration forces and costs. Students will carefully calculate and predict how their bridge will perform by using software to evaluate their iterations.
What will I be learning in Design and Technology in Year 8?
The Design and Technology curriculum in Year 8 has been designed to allow students to develop their creative skills. The five projects students will complete will revisit the core materials they have explored in year 7 whilst giving them the opportunity to be more innovative in their approaches. The design briefs that challenge the students will be wider allowing students scope to tackle them in a variety of ways.
Box Fresh:
This project is based around a brief from John Lewis that asks students to consider storing items to improve the comfort and efficiency of people’s lives. Students have to identify a clear user, research their needs, write a specification and design a solution for their primary user. The emphasis of this project is accuracy and quality. Students use Jigs and Formers to produce a storage solution to meet their identified needs of their chosen user.
The Underground:
This project takes students around the multi cultural city of London using the underground transport system. A different dish from across the capital represents the diverse culture that we can expect from living in London. Students build on the basic food skills learnt in Year 7 but challenge the students to produce more complex and rounded meals suitable for feeding a family. This project aims to expand the range of foods that students know how to cook by providing balanced and nutritional meals for the students to make.
Cushion the blow:
Students are shown different designers, artists, design movements and fashions from the past decade. From this students are given the chance to design around a theme that inspires them. Building on their textile project from Year 7, students will be using similar techniques to produce a textiles product (A bag or a cushion) Skills / knowledge will include seam allowance, hems, surface decoration, sublimation printing, block printing, appliqué and embroidery.
Habitat:
Students are challenged to design, prototype and manufacture a contemporary, quality Tea-light holder from sheet aluminium for the household furniture company, Habitat. Students will come up with creative solutions, developing nets into exciting 3D forms that customers would purchase for their homes whilst learning about the properties and uses of different types of ferrous and nonferrous metals.
Fidget Widget:
Students are asked to consider how other people might feel by empathising with teenagers that have anxiety, worries or nerves. Students are to design and manufacture a fidget toy that can be sold or given away to help students manage their anxiety. The students are taught about smart materials and how this can be incorporated into a product to offer a Unique Selling Point.
What will I be learning in Design and Technology in Year 9?
The curriculum for Design and Technology in Year 9 is where our students are encouraged to be innovative. All of the projects have been designed with open briefs allowing students to challenge themselves and take their ideas in a direction of their choice. We want our students to be creative yet resilient, innovative yet entrepreneurial which is why we encourage our students in Year 9 to take risks with their design thinking and understand how to solve problems. Not only does this prepare students for life within our community but it gives them the skills they need to be successful within the creative industry.
Illumination:
This project is a technology driven design brief and an introduction into electronics and systems. Students are tasked with designing and manufacturing a light based around LED technology. By the end of the project students will know what a closed loop and open loop system is, what an I,O and P is, they will understand finite and non-finite energy sources, how power stations work and the origins of this power. Students will understand basic components and the functions of these and the basics of soldering to create their own circuit.
Come Dine with Me:
Students will take part in a well known programme called Come Dine With Me. Students will be expected to research, design and manufacture a three course meal for at least four members of their family. Each course will be produced at school and taken home to be judged. Students will be given one lesson to research and organise their ingredients and one lesson to prepare and make the starter, main and dessert. Students will be building on the skills they have acquired over the past two years taking into consideration the nutritional functions of the ingredients, the source of their ingredients and the user’s dietary needs.
Pinball Wizard:
The pinball wizard is a project that challenges students to come up with a design for a retro gaming product. The project is linked to the success of the UK gaming industry and challenges students to come up with their own theme for a pinball game. Students will be understanding how mechanisms such as levers, linkages, gears, pulleys and belts can be used to create a mechanical advantage in the designing of their pinball wizard.
Dyson Challenge:
STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) plays an important role in Design and Technology. The practical context that the subject offers helps to bring Maths and Science alive where it can be utilised to solve design briefs.
The Dyson challenge allows students the chance to solve an engineering problem set out by the company Dyson. Students have to research, test, design and make a product that allows a marble to run for 30 seconds without being touched. This project allows students the chance to use Maths and Science to predict what might happen by analysing and evaluating their results. Students work in teams to solve the problem by experimenting with materials to alter friction, time, speed, gradient and distance. Students are scored on a points system based on how close they get to the 30 second target,
It’s in the bag:
This project is based around the culture and history of design movements overtime, in particular Pop art. Students are asked to research a movement and use this as a point of reference for producing a commercial textiles product they could sell. Using aloof the techniques acquired from Year 7 and 8 students will be able to produce something really innovative that meets the requirements of the design brief.
GCSE Design and Technology
Why is the study of GCSE Design and Technology important?
GCSE Design and Technology (AQA) is the inspiring, rigorous and practical subject which prepares all young people to live and work in an increasingly technological world. Studying Design and Technology allows our students to gain awareness and learn from wider influences on Design and Technology including historical, social, cultural, environmental and economic factors. Our curriculum offers all students the opportunity to work creatively when designing and making and applying technical and practical expertise.
Studying GCSE Design and technology allows students to study core technical and designing and making principles, including a broad range of design processes, materials techniques and equipment. These skills and knowledge are then used to help solve real and relevant design problems that affect the world we live in.
Across the study students will be taught to:
- How to make effective design choices using a breadth of core technical knowledge.
- Explore a specialist technical principle in a material area of their choice.
- Understand how the prototypes they develop must satisfy the wants or needs of the intended user.
- Demonstrate and apply knowledge and understanding of designing and making principles.
How are you assessed in GCSE Design and Technology?
GCSE Design and Technology is accredited at the end of the course in the form of one examination paper (Paper 1) and one Non Examined Assessment (NEA)
Paper 1 (Written Examination)
This will be a written examination lasting 2 hours and will be worth 50% of the overall GCSE. The exam paper will be marked out of 100 Marks and question will be structured as follows:
Section A – Core technical principles (20 marks) A mixture of multiple choice and short answer questions assessing a breadth of technical knowledge and understanding.
Section B – Specialist technical principles (30 marks) Several short answer questions (2–5 marks) and one extended response to assess a more in depth knowledge of technical principles.
Section C – Designing and making principles (50 marks) A mixture of short answer and extended response questions.
In addition: at least 15% of the exam will assess maths, at least 10% of the exam will assess science.
Non Examined Assessment (NEA)
This element of the course allows students to respond to a given contextual challenge set by AQA on the 1st June in the year prior to submission. It represents 50% of the overall GCSE, will take 30 – 35 guided learning hours and will be marked out of 100. Students will respond to the contextual challenge by completing a substantial design and make activity guided by their own independent learning. Students will identify a clear need from a Primary user in which they will hope to solve through generating ideas and developing a solution through an iterative approach. The body of work is internally assessed by the teacher and moderated externally by AQA.
Key Assessment Objectives
The exams and non-exam assessment will measure how students have achieved the following assessment objectives.
AO1: Identify, investigate and outline design possibilities to address needs and wants.
AO2: Design and make prototypes that are fit for purpose.
AO3: Analyse and evaluate:
- design decisions and outcomes, including for prototypes made by themselves and others
- wider issues in design and technology.
AO4: Demonstrate and apply knowledge and understanding of:
- technical principles
- designing and making principles.
Course Information:
https://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/design-and-technology/gcse/design-and-technology-8552
Why is the study of GCSE Food Preparation and Nutrition important?
This fresh and exciting specification equips students with an array of culinary techniques, as well as knowledge of nutrition, food traditions and kitchen safety. It will inspire and motivate students, opening their eyes to a world of career opportunities and giving them the confidence to cook with ingredients from across the globe.
At its heart, this qualification focuses on nurturing students’ practical cookery skills, building on the knowledge and skills learnt in year 7, 8 and 9 to give them a strong understanding of nutrition and food science. You will always need to be able to feed yourself and others so why not understand the food science behind different processes so your food always turns out as you would like.
How are you assessed in GCSE Food Preparation and Nutrition?
AO1: Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of nutrition, food, cooking and preparation.
AO2: Apply knowledge and understanding of nutrition, food, cooking and preparation.
AO3: Plan, prepare, cook and present dishes, combining appropriate techniques.
AO4: Analyse and evaluate different aspects of nutrition, food, cooking and preparation including food made by themselves and others.
Exam: 1 hour 45 minutes (50% of qualification).
Section A: multiple choice questions on the 5 areas mentioned above (20 marks).
Section B: five structured, short and extended response questions on the 5 areas mentioned above (80 marks).
Non-examination assessments x 2 (50% of qualification)
- Food Investigation Assessment: 10hrs. Students will carry out a scientific food investigation which will assess knowledge, skills and understanding in relation to scientific principles of food. An electronic report of 1500 – 2000 words will be produced.
- Food Preparation Assessment: 20 hrs. Students will research, plan, prepare, cook and present a final menu of three dishes within a single three hour period. An electronic portfolio of no more than 20 A4 pages will be produced.
Course Information:
https://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/food/gcse/food-preparation-and-nutrition-8585
GCSE Textile Design
Why is the study of GCSE Textile design important?
Textile Design is a versatile practice that involves the creation, selection, manipulation and application of a range of materials such as fibres, yarns and fabrics, and processes such as weaving, knitting, stitching and printing to create designs and products. Textile designers work in multi-disciplinary ways to create ideas, materials and techniques for different applications. Textile designers also play an important role in the world of fashion, theatre, performance and retail.
You will learn to apply a creative approach to problem solving, consider and develop original ideas from initiation to realisation, analyse critically their own work and the work of others, express individual thoughts and choices confidently, take risks, experiment and learn from mistakes.
How are you assessed in GCSE Textile Design?
Component 1:
A portfolio that in total shows explicit coverage of the four assessment objectives. It must include a sustained project evidencing the journey from initial engagement to the realisation of intentions and a selection of further work undertaken during the student’s course of study.
- No time limit
- 96 marks
- 60% of GCSE
Non-exam assessment (NEA) set and marked by the school/college and moderated by AQA during a visit. Moderation will normally take place in June.
Each student must select and present a portfolio representative of their course of study. The portfolio must include both:
A sustained project developed in response to a subject, theme, task or brief evidencing the journey from initial engagement with an idea(s) to the realisation of intentions. This will give students the opportunity to demonstrate, through an extended creative response, their ability to draw together different areas of knowledge, skills and/or understanding from across their course of study.
A selection of further work resulting from activities such as trials and experiments; skills-based workshops; mini and/or foundation projects; responses to gallery, museum or site visits; work placements; independent study and evidence of the student’s specific role in any group work undertaken.
Component 2:
Students respond to their chosen starting point from an externally set assignment paper relating to their subject title, evidencing coverage of all four assessment objectives. The externally set assignment provides students with the opportunity to demonstrate, through an extended creative response, their ability to draw together different areas of knowledge, skills and/or understanding in response to their selected starting point.
- Preparatory period followed by 10 hours of supervised time
- 96 marks
- 40% of GCSE
Non-exam assessment (NEA) set by AQA; marked by the school/college and moderated by AQA during a visit. Moderation will normally take place in June.
Course Information:
