Design and Technology
Head of Department:
Mr W Kelly
With technology progressing rapidly it is more important than ever for students to have a secure knowledge of design and technology.
We aim to provide our students with opportunities to engage in invigorating, challenging, high quality technological and design based experiences. The Design Technology department offers pupils the opportunity to develop high level designing and making skills as well as significant opportunities to develop as independent learners. Design and Technology is a very popular uptake from Year 8 into Year 9 and has produced excellent results at GCSE level.
British designers are celebrated all over the world for their creativity and innovation but the real strength of our industry has, and always will, lie in education.
Sir Terence Conran
curriculum intent
In Design & Technology, we want our students to be confident in the use of a wide range of different workshop tools and equipment, Be fully competent in all areas relating to health & safety and know how to conduct safe practices in a workshop/ kitchen environment. One of our main goals is to make students fully aware of the career opportunities available to students who develop strong skill sets in Design & Technology and ensure that they are aware that Design & Technology will provide them with the necessary skills and knowledge for careers in Engineering, Architecture, Product design and any other creative industry. In order to fully prepare them for this the Claremont Design & Technology department places a very strong emphasis on ensuring we provide a modern, up to date and engaging curriculum that provides students with the necessary skills for an ever changing and evolving industry.
Key stage 3
Year 7, 8 & 9 Design & Technology Rotation
Topics Covered: (Rotated every term)
- Unit 1 – CAD CAM
- Unit 2 – Product Design & Manufacture
- Unit 3 – Food and Nutrition
During Year 7, 8 and 9 students will study Design & Technology as part of the national curriculum and will study a variety of different disciplines (CAD CAM, Product Design & Food Technology) each year as part of a rotation system where they will have the opportunity to study three key areas and disciplines. under the guidance of specialist teachers in each of these areas.
Each rotation will last one Term and all students will have the opportunity to cover all three areas each year, building upon the knowledge and understanding gained from the previous years.
In Year 7 and 8 students will have one Design & Technology lesson per week and this increases to three lessons per fortnight when students reach year 9.
In Design & Technology, students in Years 7, 8 and 9 will take part in a balance of both theory and practical lessons. The theory element provides them with essential knowledge of materials, processes, sustainability, and design principles, while the practical sessions give them the opportunity to apply this knowledge through hands-on making. This combined approach ensures students not only understand how products are designed and manufactured, but also why certain choices are made.
At the end of the year students will sit an end of year test which will cover all three of the topics they have covered throughout the year and will be formally marked and assessed and will contribute to students final end of year results along with the grades achieved for each of their individual pieces of project work.
Across the year, students studying Design & Technology will cover all of the following assessment strands.
- Research
- Development of Design Ideas
- Manufacturing of Final Product
- Testing and Evaluation
- Communication & Presentation of Design Folder
For each project there will be specific assessment task that students will need to complete. These specific tasks will be formally marked and assessed.
Year 7-9 Project overviews:
Topic overview sheets Year 7
Year 7 - CAD CAM - 2D Design TS
Topic overview sheets Year 8
Topic overview sheets Year 9
Key Stage 4 - GCSE Design & Technology
At KS4 Stage 4 pupils will continue to develop and build upon the core technical principles that they have gained as part of their foundation year. Pupils will do this by undertaking a range of design and make assignments. In each of these assignment students will be given a different design brief that they must follow.
Each project is tailored to teach pupils a specific part of the AQA GCSE Design and Technology specification. Over the course of year 10 and 11 students will undertake several of these projects which cover all of the areas outlined in the GCSE specification.
At the end of Year 10 students will sit an end of year exam in Design & Technology which form part of their final end of year grade.
Units covered in Year 10:
- CAD CAM – 2D Design – Architectural Project
- Materials theory and manufacture Techniques
- Graphical skills and visual communication
- Product Design – Minor Project
- NEA (Non exam Assessment) Start of their Final major project (leads into year 11)
Year 10 - Resistant Materials - Minor project (NEA style)
Units covered in Year 11:
In Year 11 pupils will undertake a final major project (NEA) which will count as 50% of their final GCSE grade. This project will be started in June when students are in year 10 and will carry through for the whole of year 11.
At the end of year 11 students will sit a 2 hour exam which will make up the remaining 50% of their grade.
During Year 11 students will cover:
Unit 1 – NEA Final Major Project (Starts in June of Year 10 when contexts are released by AQA)
Unit 2 – Paper 1:
- Core Technical Principles
- Specialist Technical Principles
- Designing & Making Principles
Year 11 Design & Technology GCSE Specification
Key Stage 5 - A Level Product Design
A Level Design and Technology: AQA Product Design (3-D Design) helps students take a broad view of design and technology, develop their capacity to design and make products and appreciate the complex relations between design, materials, manufacture and marketing. This course will continue to provide students with the opportunity to design and make both aesthetically pleasing and functional products across the two year course. Students will realise their design ideas through a range of materials, manufacturing techniques and processes including CAD and CAM.
The AQA A Level Product Design Course is covered in three distinct parts:
- Unit 1 - Technical principles: 2.5 Hours exam - 30% of overall grade
- Unit 2 - Designing and Making principles - 1.5 hour exam -20% of overall grade
- NEA - Non exam assessment - Create of design portfolio and final manufactured piece - 50% of overall grade.
Topic sheet - Technical Principles
Topic Sheet - Designing and making principles
Enrichment
- STEM clubs run at Lunchtime and after school including CAD CAM, Coding & Robotics
- STEM partnership with Brunel university.
- Students attend trips to Brunel University to take part in workshops and competitions.
- Design club: Students undertake a range of projects including T shirt printing, upcycling and recycling project.
Next Steps
- Engineering (Design and Technology provides a large number of transferable skills for careers in Mechanical, automotive and aeronautical engineering courses)
- Architecture – Over the last few years a high percentage (approximately 75%) of our A Level students have gone to study Architecture at University
- Product & Industrial Design
- Animation & Game design