Design and Technology
Why is the subject important?
Think about your average morning and the products you use, from the bed you wake up in, to the cup that contains your first drink of the day, to the vehicle that transports you to school. Someone has designed and manufactured those products to solve a design problem and hopefully make our lives better. This is what design and technology is all about and it gives young people the knowledge, skills and abilities to engage positively with the designed world and to harness the benefits of technology. Design and technology also consists of food and nutrition, which teaches the students about the benefits of a healthy diet and gives them the skills to be able to cook tasty, nutritious dishes from scratch, which is one of the most important skills for a healthy life. Design and technology is an extensive subject and during Year 7 and 8 the students will learn how products and systems are designed and manufactured, how to be innovative with ingredients and to make creative use of a variety of resources including digital technologies, to improve the world around them.
Year 7
What will I be studying?
- Transition
- Mastering the basics of cooking
- Pac-Man
- Seasonality cooking
- Sweet Shop logo
- Waste not want not
- Sweet dispenser
How will I be assessed?
You will be assessed on your ability to plan, design, manufacture and evaluate, combined with a basic understanding of health and safety, sustainability, materials, tools/equipment, nutrition and CAD. Each assessment will be a combination of skill-based tasks combined with various methods of determining your knowledge of specific areas of design and technology.
Which websites should I use to support my learning?
Year 8
What will I be studying?
- Formula Pine Challenge (STEM)
- Food safety
- Passive speaker
- Multicultural food
- Eatwell Guide
- Iteration and evaluation
How will I be assessed?
You will be assessed on your ability to plan, design, manufacture and evaluate, combined with a basic understanding of branding, specifications, function of ingredients, programming and CAD. Each assessment will be a combination of skill-based tasks combined with various methods of determining your knowledge of these specific areas of design and technology.
Which websites should I use to support my learning?
GCSE AQA Design and Technology
What will I be studying?
- Core technical principles
- Specialist technical principles
- Designing and making principles
Non Exam Assessment (NEA):
- Substantial design and make task
- Assessment criteria:
- Identifying and investigating design possibilities
- Producing a design brief and specification
- Generating design ideas
- Developing design ideas
- Realising design ideas
- Analysing & evaluating
Students will produce a prototype and a portfolio of evidence
How will I be assessed?
The learners are externally assessed (Exam content) this will be 50% of the available marks (R105 – Design briefs, design specifications and user requirements) with the remaining 50% being the NEA (manufacture of prototype and related coursework) assessed within school and moderated by the exam board
Which examination board am I following?
Exam Board: AQA GCSE Design Technology
Website:https://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/design-and-technology/gcse/design-and-technology-8552
Which websites should I use to support my learning?