Senior Curriculum - Design & Technology

Exciting new technologies that are under development today are likely to have a profound effect on our lives in the near future.  Indeed, we may be on the threshold of a new technological revolution spearheaded by developments in artificial intelligence, genetic engineering or nanotechnology.  The advance in technology is rapid and increasing each year.  It is vital therefore that pupils understand the processes that take place in this part of the curriculum.

Design and Technology prepares students to participate in tomorrow’s rapidly changing technologies.  They learn to think and intervene creatively to improve quality of life. The subject calls for students to become autonomous and creative problem solvers, as individuals and members of a team.  They must look for needs, wants and opportunities and respond to them by developing a range of ideas and making products and systems.  They combine practical skills with an understanding of aesthetic, social and environmental issues, function and industrial practices. They reflect on and evaluate present and past Design and Technology, its uses and effects.  Through Design and Technology, all students can become discriminating and informed users of products, and become innovators.

During Key Stage 3 pupils use a wide range of materials to design and make products. They work out their ideas with some precision, taking into account how products will be used, who will use them, how much they cost and their appearance. They develop their understanding of designing and making by investigating products and finding out about the work of professional designers and manufacturing industry. They use computers and control software, as an integral part of designing and making. They draw on knowledge and understanding from other areas of the curriculum. By the end of the Key Stage 3, pupils will be able to demonstrate fully their design and technology capability, which requires them to combine skills with knowledge and understanding in order to design and make quality products in quantity. The Technology course is divided into three disciplines taught in rotation - please click below to find out more information of the following subjects:

Food Technology

Graphics

Textiles