Design Technology and Food

“Good design is innovative. Good design must be useful. Good design is aesthetic design. Good design makes a product understandable. Good design is honest. Good design is unobtrusive. Good design is long-lasting. Good design is consistent in every detail. Good design is environmentally friendly. And last but not least, good design is as little design as possible.” Dieter Rams  

“Good design is like a refrigerator - when it works, no one notices, but when it doesn’t, it sure stinks.” Irene Au  

Curriculum Principles

We aim to have a curriculum which will allow students to become self motivated and confident learners, who can work independently and as part of a team.  Our main aim is to ensure that students develop technical and practical competencies, as well as the wider soft skills valued by employers. Our priority is for students to be problem solvers who are not afraid of making mistakes.  We hope our students will become responsible citizens who make a positive contribution to society.  Food enables pupils to develop a love of food, understanding where food comes from, how to cook a range of dishes safely and hygienically and to apply their knowledge of healthy eating and nutrition to their own lives.  

Curriculum Features   

We firmly believe that students learn best by ‘doing’ and by allowing them to experiment and take risks, in a safe and positive learning environment. This is achieved through imaginative teaching that embraces new technologies and resembles modern industrial processes, whilst retaining the best of traditional practices. At the heart of this, is the desire to deliver a curriculum in which students express creativity through designs and produce high quality outcomes. Students must learn about designers and their work, especially British designers. They also learn about the importance of managing materials and ingredients to become more established food practitioners and technologists.    

Students are able to improvise, adapt and overcome problems.  Students feel supported and secure in making mistakes, while they aim for excellence students are supported and do not feel they have failed if problems occur.  Consistently good numbers of students select courses in technology and food at GCSE and we have enough high-quality students to offer courses at KS5.   

We enable students to combine their designing and making skills with knowledge and understanding, in order to design, make, analyse and evaluate products of high quality. Students express their own creativity through their making activities and are more socially confident to give their opinions. Collaborative skills are honed so they can work with a client.   

Opportunities to use other subjects in Design and Technology such as Maths, Science, Business Studies, History as well as other extra-curricular clubs such as Young Designers, Textile design or STEM club.  The Design and Technology curriculum allows students to develop a set of transferable skills they can enjoy in school and use in their future working lives.