What is Technology & Design?
Technology and Design is an exciting, modern and vibrant subject which appeals to both girls and boys. It has a strong focus on practical activities – a design and make approach. It promotes the use of tools and machinery to produce useful products, which we call projects. It encourages the use of wood, metal and plastic alongside the study of electronics, mechanisms, computers and the design process.
Resources/Facilities/Teaching Staff
The Technology Department is housed in a state of the art facility which was recently refurbished. Despite being a one teacher department, its facilities are unrivalled amongst local schools and offer all our pupils the opportunity to excel in this subject area.
T & D at Key Stage 3 (11-14 Year Olds)
Technology and Design forms part of the Revised Key Stage 3 Curriculum, and as such is compulsory for all pupils who fall within this category. Year 8-10 pupils receive 1½ hours of lessons per week. This ensures progression through a range of experiences which are matched to the Key Stage 3 Programme of Study.
Years 8–10 pupils are involved in a variety of tasks. These range from design work to the practical manufacture of a product or system. These ‘Projects’ are designed to enable pupils to acquire a particular set of skills and so progress to a higher level of knowledge and understanding. Overall, the KS3 years are designed to provide pupils with a solid base from which to study GCSE T&D and beyond.
T & D at Key Stage 4/GCSE (15-16 Year Olds)
In Year 10, pupils are given the choice to continue the subject to GCSE level. Typically, well over ½ of our pupils will take this ‘optional’ subject – we believe this enthusiasm is reflected strongly in our GCSE Results.
Year 8 – A Typical Year/Topics of Study/Projects
Year 8 Projects focus mainly on basic, yet fundamental skills/principles such as health and safety, working with materials (wood, metals and plastics) as well as the correct/safe use of popular tools & machinery.
Head of Department: Mr N. McIvor (B.Ed T&D Hons)
