Design Technology

Design Technology

In the Design and Technology Department we strive to provide an enriching environment in which boys will learn to draw, design and make in a structured and enjoyable way. The school workshop and adjoining graphics room are well appointed with a wide range of high quality equipment enabling boys to design and manufacture to a very high standard.

Our foundation course covers years 7, 8 and 9 and is designed to give boys a thorough grounding in a range of designing and manufacturing skills. We consider graphics to be an essential part of this foundation – it is difficult to design without being able to communicate your ideas through drawing - and so we teach boys how to use a drawing board to draw in both orthographic and isometric. These skills are then encouraged and developed in order that boys have confidence to express their ideas. In the workshop boys begin by learning basic bench techniques in wood, metal and plastics. As they progress through the three years, so we introduce them to more complex skills, demanding higher standards of accuracy, as well as encouraging them to develop their own designing skills. By the end of the foundation course all boys will have had experience of using much of the school workshop equipment.

Our GCSE course is AQA Design and Technology (Resistant Materials Technology), and we usually have two sets at this level. During year 10 we set work that will stretch both the designing and making skills of our boys in preparation for their GCSE project in year 11. This project accounts for 60% of the final grade and consists of both a portfolio of design work and a piece of manufacturing, both on the theme of lighting. This is when boys have the opportunity to bring many of the skills that they have learnt, and enjoy the challenge of designing and making a high quality piece of work from start to finish.

Our A level course has been popular for many years, giving boys the opportunity to develop their skills further still. The lower sixth year is, again, a foundation course with the theme being seating. Not only do boys have the opportunity to learn new drawing and manufacturing skills, but they are encouraged to develop their own ideas, trying out ideas that are new to them (and sometimes to the staff!). In the upper sixth, boys have a free rein to tackle a problem that interests them, and products that have been developed have included a snow board trainer, an artificial ice climbing hold for an indoor climbing wall and a device to assist parents of very young children open a collapsible high chair more easily.

Boys choose Design and Technology for a wide range of reasons. For some it is their career aim, whilst others find the problem solving aspect a useful addition to their more academic subjects. We believe that all boys will find the decision making aspect our subject an essential life skill, and we hope that for some at least, the sheer love of making things will remain a passion for the rest of their lives.