In Design and Technology students combine practical and technological skills with creative thinking to design and make products and systems that meet human needs.

During design lessons the core competences of problem solving skills, communication skills, collaborative skills and technical skills are developed. The subject also draws on skills and knowledge from many other curriculum areas and provides students with opportunities to use these in practical "real life" ways.

Pupils will also have the opportunity to learn about famous designers, architects and design movements.

Key Stage 2

At Key Stage 2 emphasis is placed on the acquiring and refining of skills in designing and making. These are complemented by a relevant knowledge base and technical vocabulary. Students are in mixed ability groups and are taught in half-termly rotations. Two of these six rotations are DT focused, two Art, 1 Food and 1 Textiles.  Pupils will have a double (2 hour) lesson each week and are taught in groups which range from 20-24.

Year 5

The Year 5 rotations consist of a resistant materials project where pupils will produce a handheld maze themed toy, and their very own Coat of Arms, which has a cross-curricular link with History. Both projects allow pupils to create a product which demonstrates their imagination and creativity. In addition, both projects encourage pupils to develop design skills, practice and use their numeracy skills, learn about health and safety and introduce pupils to a variety of hand tools, workshop machinery and materials.

Year 6

The Year 6 rotation consists of a resistant materials project where pupils focus on pewter casting and they produce a pewter pendant. Pupils design and create an MDF mould and learn about the process of casting with metal. Their second project is graphic drawing where pupils experiment with a variety of drawing styles such as oblique, isometric and perspective, and learn about how and why these styles are used in areas of design and architecture.

 

Key Stage 3

Pupils will study the main three disciplines within the Creative Practical Arts Department - DT, Food and Textiles. They will complete a full term in each. During their two week timetable, pupils will have one double lesson and are taught in groups of 18-20 pupils. The longer practical session allows for pupils to fully immerse themselves in their practical tasks. In Key Stage 3 pupils begin to focus on more specialist areas of design and technology. These units also have a focus on famous designers, careers and sustainability. 

Year 7 - Graphic Design

Pupils have the task of designing the graphics for a computer game sleeve using Photoshop.  They learn to use a variety of CAD (Computer Aided Design) tools to achieve professional looking results. Pupils are able to employ creativity and imagination in their designs. Students also have the opportunity to experience working in a way similar to graphic designers in industry by learning a range of new skills and techniques including research, creating mock ups of designs and evaluating.

 

Year 8 – Product Design

The Year 8 task is to produce a creative lighting product.  In the practical lessons pupils develop their skills with various hand tools and workshop machinery with the aim of producing a wooden box which will act as the base for their product and house the electronics. They will also be introduced to modern DT technology in the form of CAD using 2D Design software and laser cutting to design a piece of clear acrylic that will sit atop the box and radiate light from an LED strip below.