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Curriculum Intent

Design and Technology is an exciting and practical subject. You will use your imagination to design and make products that solve real-life problems.

During the course, you will learn how to:

  • Create: Use your own ideas to build things that people really need.

  • Connect: Use what you know from Maths, Science, Art, and Computing to improve your work.

  • Problem Solve: Learn to take risks and find new ways to fix challenges.

  • Analyze: Look at designs from the past and present to see how they have changed the world.

Good design helps everyone. By studying this subject, you will learn how to be a creative and capable person who can make a real difference in our daily lives.

ks3: Design - design technology (DT)

In Years 7, 8 & 9 students rotate the three subject areas in Design Technology and will undertake a project in each of the specialisms.

  • Food Technology: Chef’s Apprentice

    In this project, you will learn how to use the kitchen safely and with confidence. You will practice different cooking skills to make both sweet and savory food.

    • Skills: You will learn how to use the hob, grill, and oven.

    • Tasting: You will use your senses to test your food and think about how to make your recipes even better next time.

    Product Design: Pencil Box

    During this rotation, you will be introduced to the school workshop. We will teach you how to use a wide range of tools and machines safely.

    • Making: You will build your own pencil box.

    • Materials: You will explore different materials to see how they work and how to handle them.

    • Accuracy: You will learn how to measure and work carefully so that your finished box fits together perfectly.

    Textile Design: Cultural Pillow

    In this project, you will design and make a pillow based on different countries and cultures.

    • Research: You will look at designs from around the world to get inspired.

    • Creativity: You will learn new ways to create patterns and designs.

    • Making: You will practice hand-sewing and use a sewing machine. You will also try out techniques like dyeing and printing on fabric.

  • Food Technology: Healthy Eating

    In this project, you will learn how to cook for people with different health needs. You will build on the skills you learned in Year 7 to make a variety of tasty dishes.

    • Healthy Choices: Learn how to follow healthy eating rules and cook for people with special diets.

    • Professional Look: You will practice “plating up” your food so it looks professional and appetizing.

    • Improving Recipes: You will think about the changes you made while cooking and how to adapt recipes for different people.

    Product Design: Moving Toys

    In this rotation, you will discover how machines work by building your own moving toy. You will learn how to turn a “spinning” motion into an “up-and-down” motion.

    • Mechanics: Learn how parts like levers and cams work together to make things move.

    • Design Skills: You will learn how to draw your ideas in 3D so they look realistic.

    • Eco-Friendly: Explore how the products we make affect the environment and how we can design better for the planet.

    Textile Design: Eco-Friendly Bags

    This project is all about being a “green” designer. You will look at how the fashion and fabric industry affects the world and how we can make it better.

    • Sustainability: Learn about “moral” and “ethical” design—this means making sure products are fair to people and safe for the earth.

    • Using Computers (CAD): You will use design software on the computer to create your own fabric patterns.

    • High-Tech Making (CAM): You will use a laser cutter to turn your computer designs into real stencils and block prints for your bag.

  • Food Technology: Asian Cooking

    In this project, you will build on everything you learned in Years 7 and 8. You will research and cook your way through the history and flavors of Asian cuisine.

    • Culture & History: Explore how different cultures cook and how the history of a country changes its food.

    • Green Cooking: Learn how our food choices can help or hurt the environment.

    • Get Ready for GCSE: This project is a great “stepping stone” if you want to study Food Technology in Year 10.

    Product Design: Steady Hand Game

    Build your own electronic game from scratch! You will learn how to make it, market it, and even work out how much it costs to build.

    • Electronics: Learn how parts like resistors and logic gates work. You will practice soldering to build your own circuits.

    • Computer Skills: Use Excel to track your costs and make charts. You will also use PowerPoint to “pitch” your game to customers.

    • Making & Shaping: Use a laser cutter and vacuum former to create the perfect case for your game.

    Textile Design: Upcycling & E-Textiles

    Learn how to turn “old” clothes into something new and high-tech! This project focuses on how to be a sustainable designer.

    • Upcycling: Take an old garment and use creative techniques to give it a new life.

    • E-Textiles: Learn how to add technology to fabric. You will use electrical circuits to add lights to your clothes.

    • Saving the Planet: Discover how the fashion industry is changing to be kinder to the environment.

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ks4: Design & Technology

Everything we use—from mountain bikes and mobile phones to furniture and buildings—has been designed by someone. In this course, you will learn how to balance making a product look good (aesthetics) with making sure it works well (function).

What You Will Learn

Design and Technology is all about being creative to solve problems for other people. During the course, you will:

  • Solve Problems: Use the “design and improve” process to test your ideas and make them better.

  • Work with Materials: Learn how different materials work and how to use technology to control them.

  • Build Life Skills: Develop confidence, teamwork, and the ability to keep trying even when a design is difficult.

  • Understand the World: Learn how history, culture, and the environment change the way we design products today.

Your Future

This course prepares you to work confidently in a world full of new technology. You will get the chance to be hands-on, using your practical skills and expert tools to bring your own creative ideas to life.

What’s assessed:

  • Core technical principles
  • Specialist technical principles
  • Designing and making principles

In addition:

  • at least 15% of the exam will assess maths
  • at least 10% of the exam will assess science.

How it’s assessed:

  • Written exam: 2 hours (100 marks and 50% of GCSE)

Questions:

  • Section A – Core technical principles (20 marks) A mixture of multiple choice and short answer questions assessing a breadth of technical knowledge and understanding.
  • Section B – Specialist technical principles (30 marks) Several short answer questions (2–5 marks) and one extended response to assess a more in depth knowledge of technical principles.
  • Section C – Designing and making principles (50 marks) A mixture of short answer and extended response questions.

What’s assessed:

Practical application of:

  • Core technical principles
  • Specialist technical principles
  • Designing and making principles

How it’s assessed:

  • Non-exam assessment (NEA) – 30–35 hours approx. (100 marks and 50% of GCSE)
  • 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

Note: This specification has strong links to Science and Maths. Students are also expected to learn across all specialist subjects, however will focus on one specialist area (timber-based materials) in more depth for the NEA.

In Year 10 students will deepen their understanding of the following through both theory and practical projects:

  • Core technical principles
  • Specialist technical principles
  • Designing and making principles
AQA GCSE Design & Technology Specification Learning Journey

In Year 11 students will undertake their NEA based on a contextual challenge set by the exam board.

In addition, students will continue to prepare for their written exam.

AQA GCSE Design & Technology Specification Learning Journey

KS4: Food Preparation & Nutrition

What’s assessed:

  • Food, nutrition and health
  • Food science
  • Food safety
  • Food choice
  • Food provenance

How it’s assessed:

  • Written exam: 1 hour 45 minutes (100 marks and 50% of GCSE)

Questions:

  • Multiple choice questions (20 marks)
  • Five questions each with a number of sub questions (80 marks)

What’s assessed

Task 1: Food Investigation (30 marks)
Students’ understanding of the working characteristics functional and chemical properties of ingredients. Practical investigations are a compulsory element of this NEA task.

Task 2: Food preparation assessment (70 marks)
Students’ knowledge, skills and understanding in relation to the planning, preparation, cooking, presentation of food and application of nutrition related to the chosen task. Students will prepare, cook and present a final menu of three dishes within a single period of no more than three hours, planning in advance how this will be achieved.

How it’s assessed:

  • Task 1: Written or electronic report (1500-2000 words) including photographic evidence of the practical investigation.
  • Task 2: Written or electronic portfolio including photographic evidence. Photographic evidence of the three final dishes must be included.

In Year 10, you will dive deeper into how food works and how to cook for different people. You will practice making professional dishes that meet the health needs of children, teenagers, adults, and the elderly.

What You Will Study:

  • Special Diets: Learn how to cook for people with different religious, moral, or health needs.

  • Food Science: Discover how proteins, carbs, and fats work. You will learn about energy, BMI, and how cooking changes the science of your food.

  • The Environment: We will look at food provenance (where our food comes from) and how to reduce food waste and packaging.

  • Costs and Nutrition: You will learn to work out the exact cost of your ingredients and the health value of every meal you make.

Practical Exams:

Every term, you will take part in a 2-hour practical exam. You will need to plan and cook two recipes at the same time for a specific group of people.

  • Top Tip: You will learn how to “dovetail” your tasks. This means organizing your time so that both of your dishes are finished and ready to serve at exactly the same time.

This practice is essential to get you ready for your big 3-hour exam in Year 11!

In your final year, you will focus on two big projects (called NEAs) and get ready for your written exam in June.

Project 1: Food Science (September – December)

In this project, you will become a “food scientist.” You will investigate how different ingredients work.

  • The Task: The exam board (AQA) sets a topic on September 1st.

  • Your Job: You will run experiments to see what happens when you change ingredients in a recipe.

Project 2: Cooking in Action (January – April)

This is your chance to show off your best cooking skills. The topic is released on November 1st.

  • Research: You will pick a theme, like a specific country’s food or a certain health need.

  • Practice: You will cook four high-level recipes to see which ones work best.

  • The Final Exam: You will have a 3-hour practical exam to cook your three best dishes.

  • Developing Ideas: You will take your early ideas and make them even better. For example, a simple pizza could become a professional calzone, or a chicken pie could become a gourmet pasty.

Exams and Revision

  • March: Your projects are marked and checked.

  • Term 5: Once your projects are finished, we start full revision lessons.

  • June: You will sit your final written exam.

Top Tip: You will need to work independently at home to keep your revision on track throughout the year!

KS4: Textile Design

Textile design is the art of creating patterns and products using fabric. This includes weaving, knitting, stitching, and printing. Some designs are made to be used (like clothes), while others are made to be looked at (like art).

How You Will Learn

This course helps you turn your creative ideas into real products. During the lessons, you will:

  • Get Inspired: Look at different artists and designers to see how they work.

  • Explore: Experiment with different fabrics and techniques to see what works best.

  • Create: Develop your own unique designs and patterns.

  • Communicate: Show your ideas through a portfolio (a collection of your best work).

How You Are Graded

You will show what you have learned in two ways:

  1. Your Portfolio: A collection of your classwork that shows how your ideas grew from start to finish.

  2. The Exam: You will be given a theme and will have time to create a final project based on that idea.

What’s assessed

A portfolio that in total shows explicit coverage of the four assessment objectives. It must include a sustained project evidencing the journey from initial engagement to the realisation of intentions and a selection of further work undertaken during the student’s course of study. Each student must select and present a portfolio representative of their course of study.

The portfolio must include both:

  1. A sustained project developed in response to a subject, theme, task or brief evidencing the journey from initial engagement with an idea(s) to the realisation of intentions. This will give students the opportunity to demonstrate, through an extended creative response, their ability to draw together different areas of knowledge, skills and/or understanding from across their course of study.
  2. A selection of further work resulting from activities such as trials and experiments; skills-based workshops; mini and/or foundation projects; responses to gallery, museum or site visits; work placements; independent study and evidence of the student’s specific role in any group work undertaken.

How it’s assessed:

  • No time limit, 96 marks, worth 60% of GCSE

What’s assessed

Students respond to their chosen starting point from an externally set assignment paper relating to their subject title, evidencing coverage of all four assessment objectives. The externally set assignment provides students with the opportunity to demonstrate, through an extended creative response, their ability to draw together different areas of knowledge, skills and/or understanding in response to their selected starting point.

How it’s assessed:

  • Preparatory period followed by 10 hours of supervised time (96 marks and 40% of GCSE)

Your first year is split into two big projects. This is your time to experiment with fabric and find out what you are good at!

Project 1: Texture and Technique (September to February)

You will start with a theme and learn how to change the look and feel of fabric.

  • The Goal: Master new skills like stitching, layering, and creating patterns.

  • Showing Your Work: You will learn how to show your ideas in a way that the exam board loves.

Project 2: Your Own Direction (February to July)

For the second half of the year, you get more freedom!

  • The Goal: You will choose your own starting point for a design.

  • The Challenge: Use everything you learned in the first project to create your best work yet. This project will show exactly what you can do as a designer.

AQA GCSE Textiles Specification Learning Journey

Term 1: The Mock Exam (September – December)

You will start by choosing a theme from a list we provide. This is your chance to practice exactly how the real exam will feel.

  • Research: Spend the first term gathering ideas and looking at other designers.

  • Your Choice: You decide what your final product will be—whether it’s a garment, a wall hanging, or a decorative piece.

  • Double Credit: The great news is that your mock exam work also counts towards your final portfolio grade!

Term 2 & 3: The Real Deal (January – Easter)

After the Christmas break, the exam board releases the official themes. You will pick the one that inspires you the most.

  • The Preparation: From January to Easter, you will spend your lessons researching and experimenting.

  • Testing Ideas: You will try out different fabrics and threads to find the perfect look for your final design.

  • The Final Exam: After Easter, you will spend time in the classroom creating your finished piece under exam conditions.

AQA GCSE Textiles Specification Learning Journey

KS5: Fashion Design

Fashion and Textiles is an exciting and hands-on subject. You will use your imagination to design and make clothes or fabric products that solve real-life problems.

What You Will Do

This course helps you think like a professional designer. During your lessons, you will:

  • Spot Opportunities: Look for new ideas and see what people really need or want to wear.

  • Take Risks: Don’t be afraid to try something new! You will learn how to be an innovative and “green” designer.

  • Make and Test: You won’t just draw; you will build prototypes (test versions) to see if your ideas actually work.

  • Get Feedback: Work with your classmates and teachers to improve your designs based on what they think.

Why Study This?

This course gives you a “behind-the-scenes” look at how the fashion and manufacturing industries work. You will:

  • Stay Curious: Learn how the things we wear every day impact the world around us.

  • Think Critically: Research your ideas deeply to make sure they are fair, useful, and high-quality.

  • Build Skills: Gain the technical and practical expert skills needed to turn a sketch into a finished product.

Component 1: Design and Technology in the 21st Century

Written examination: 3 hours

Weighting: 50% of qualification. 

The examination includes a mix of structured and extended writing questions assessing learners’ knowledge and understanding of:  technical principles, designing and making principles along with their ability to: 1. Analyse and evaluate wider issues in design and technology. 

Component 2: Design and make project

Non-exam assessment: approximately 80 hours

Weighting: 50% of qualification 

A sustained design and make project, based on a brief developed by the candidate, assessing the candidate’s ability to:  identify, investigate and outline design possibilities  design and make prototypes analyse and evaluate design decisions and outcomes, including for prototypes made by themselves and others 

WJEC EDUQAS A Level fashion design specification Learning Journey

KS5: Product Design

A Level Design and Technology helps you become a high-level problem solver. You will work in a creative environment to build products that fix real-world problems.

What You Will Learn

This course goes beyond just making things; it teaches you how the professional design world works. You will:

  • Find Gaps in the Market: Learn how to spot what people need and design a product to help them.

  • Master Prototyping: Take an idea from a simple sketch to a test model, and finally to a product that could be sold in shops.

  • Modern Topics: Explore how new technology and design change our daily lives and the world around us.

  • Be a Critic: Learn how to look at products and society with an expert eye to see how they can be improved.

How You Are Graded

At the end of the two-year course, you will be graded on three main parts:

  1. Written Exam 1: Focuses on technical principles and how things are made.

  2. Written Exam 2: Focuses on design and making principles.

  3. The Design Project: A major practical project where you design and build a high-quality product of your choice.

Exam Paper 1 – Technical Principles

  • 120 marks, 2 hours 30 minutes written paper – 30% of total A level
  • This paper is a mixture of short answer and extended response.

Exam Paper 2 – Designing and making principles

  • 80 marks, 1 hour 30 minutes written paper- 20% of total A Level.
  • Mixture of short answer and extended response questions.

Section A:

  • Product Analysis: 30 marks
  • Up to 6 short answer questions based on visual stimulus of product(s).

Section B:

  • Commercial manufacture: 50 marks
  • Mixture of short and extended response questions

Practical application of technical principles, designing and making principles. 100 marks, 50% of total A level.

Written or digital design portfolio and photographic evidence of final prototype. Learners identify a design opportunity or problem from a context of their own choice, and create a portfolio of evidence in real time through the project to demonstrate their competence.

AQA A Level product design specification Learning Journey