DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

Year 9 Course Outline

In Year 9, pupils have one specialist teacher for the year, focusing on the fundamental disciplines required to become innovative designers. Pupils complete three projects which are core to the syllabus. These projects are designed to encourage a greater depth of understanding of design in the wider world and to further develop their practical skills. Pupils are encouraged to be creative, independent learners, drawing on and widening their practical skills and knowledge to develop a multi-material approach to product design

Years 10 and 11 Course Outline

In Year 10, pupils complete one core project. This project is a multi-material project, where for the first time; they are totally in control of the final design and material selection for their product. This project is primarily intended to develop their practical skills and technical material knowledge. In the summer term of Year 10, pupils choose their coursework project from a range of contexts written by the exam board. This forms the basis of their GCSE portfolio. They use the skills learnt in their previous projects to research and develop ideas for their coursework culminating in a made product. Innovation and creative thought are encouraged throughout and pupils find the course a very enjoyable experience. The relevant theory and exam preparation is also taught alongside these practical projects in preparation for the examination at the end of Year 11.

Skills Required and Developed

Practical skills are developed using a wide range of tools, machinery and processes including lathes, traditional hand tools, casting equipment, laser cutting and 3D printing. Innovative thought, high quality graphics skills, problem solving, and the application of science and mathematics principles are nurtured and encouraged. Due to the nature of the coursework for GCSE, good time management is important to get right, and we encourage pupils to get into good habits early on. The skills and theory learnt in Design and Technology can be transferred to Science, Business and Maths, giving strong crosscurricular links for careers in engineering and architecture. The subject also has strong skills links to Art.

External Assessment

The course is examined through the AQA GCSE Design and Technology course. The coursework element accounts for 50% of the total marks available and the terminal exam accounts for the remaining 50%.

Beyond the Classroom

There are regular school trips to the Design Museum and local industry, alongside national STEM competition entries. Technology club is designed to develop pupils’ design and practical work outside of lessons, giving pupils the opportunity to explore different manufacturing techniques and processes. GCSE DT design clinics and catch up sessions are available both at lunch and after school to help develop pupils’ practical and theory skills which they can apply to their coursework and GCSE examination.

Further information

Mr T James, Head of Design and Technology, Tel 023 9236 4227, Email t.james@pgs.org.uk

Exam Board Website: https://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/design-and-technology/gcse www.designmuseum.org www.technologystudent.com