Design Technology

Design and Technology is an inspiring and practical subject. Here at Crispin, we are focused on using pupils’ creativity and imagination to design and make products. When designing, the pupils need to consider a variety of things including materials, sizes, the environment, cost, the function of the product, and their own and others’ needs, wants, and values. Within Design and Technology our pupils acquire a broad range of subject knowledge and draw on disciplines such as mathematics, science, engineering, computing, and art. Pupils learn how to take risks becoming resourceful, innovative, enterprising, and capable young people.

We are always striving to ensure the pupils are gaining an inspiring and modern view of technology and therefore will often look to develop projects relevant to today’s world. As a department, we are determined to allow pupils to experience some of the fantastic technology that exists today alongside the classic skills which are the foundation of our subject. We offer great facilities to our pupils including many specialist rooms in food, textiles, graphics, and product design, alongside two state of the art laser cutters, vinyl cutters, computerised sewing machines, wood lathes, and excellent software such as photoshop, Flowoll, and 2D design, all of which enable the students to have a broad and varied experience.

Years 7 and 8

In Years 7 and 8, our pupils will follow a rotation to allow them to experience six different projects through the year in many material areas including food, textiles, graphics, CAD/CAM, and product design. They will cover two projects each term and the rotation will involve the following projects.

Year 9

In Year 9 the pupils gain a different experience of rotation. Their Design and Technology lessons are split into two elements: DT and Te. Within these lessons they will experience a number of projects. Term 1 consists of four half-term projects, each one based in a specialist area. Term 2 consists of skill based lessons focused on developing particular skills in each area. In Term 3, the pupils will opt for their two favourite specialist areas and complete a project and national competition called ‘Product in a Tin’. During Year 9, pupils will have the opportunity to opt for a GCSE in Food Prep and Nutrition, or Design and Technology, both new and inspiring GCSEs.

GCSE

At GCSE level we offer two courses. In year 10 we cover the core content and specialist subject knowledge for both subjects through a number of projects and varied tasks. In Year 11, pupils complete the NEA/controlled assessment which accounts for a large percentage of the grade - 50% in the Food Prep and Nutrition course and 60% in the Design and Technology GCSE. We pride oursleves on large numbers of pupils opting for GCSE DT courses and hope this will continue long into the future. Many of our students leave with good GCSE results in DT and move onto excellent careers in carpentry, architecture, engineering, product design, plumbing, fashion design, and more.

Feel free to 'Like' our Design & Technology page on Facebook to keep updated with all the latest projects and events within the department.

Last Updated: September 2018