Welcome to the Beaumont School Design and Technology Department!

The Design and Technology Department offers our students a wealth of opportunities to develop skills and knowledge in a variety of practical areas – graphics, food, materials, systems, and textiles.

Aims

Our aims are:

• to encourage pupils to demonstrate fully their design and technology capability, which requires them to combine skills with knowledge and understanding in order to design and make quality products in quantity.  
• To encourage pupils to acquire and apply knowledge, skills and understanding through:
  • analysing and evaluating products and processes
  • engaging in focused tasks to develop and demonstrate techniques
  • engaging in strategies for developing ideas, planning and producing products
  • considering how past and present design and technology, relevant to a designing and making context, affects society
  • recognising the moral, cultural and environmental issues inherent in design and technology

We expect our pupils to apply themselves fully to each task and to develop a practical problem solving approach to their work.

Curriculum

There are five material areas:

• Graphics, where students work with paper and card,
• Food, where students develop culinary skills,
• Materials, where students learn to work with wood, metal and plastic,
• Systems where students study electronics and mechanisms, and
• Textiles where students learn to design with fibres and fabrics.

Key Stage 3

In Year 7 pupils carry out four focused tasks on a half term rotation. They develop awareness of mass production through a ‘Chocolate Factory’ project and of team work through a ‘Puppet Show’ project. In Years 8 and 9 pupils carry out design and make assignments on a full term rotation and develop an awareness of industrial design through a ‘Sustainability’ project.

For a summary of the curriculum in a particular KS3 school year you can download the relevant Year Course Booklet by clicking on these links:
Year 7 course booklet
Year 8 course booklet
Year 9 course booklet

Key Stage 4

In the upper school GCSE courses are optional. Pupils taking Design and Technology as a GCSE option select a single material area from Food Technology, Graphic Products, Resistant Materials Technology and Textiles Technology. GCSE candidates develop knowledge and understanding of their chosen material area through design and make assignments and focused practical tasks. As students progress through their course they develop a greater awareness of industrial production techniques and they fine tune their practical, creative and organisational skills leading to the production of quality products relevant to the real world. Each specification is designed to foster awareness of the need to consider sustainability and the environmental impact of design.

For details of the GCSE syllabus for students who began their GCSE course in September 2010 click on this link:
GCSE 2010-2012 syllabus

For details of the GCSE syllabus for students who began their GCSE course in 2011 click on this link:
GCSE 2011-2013 syllabus

You can also obtain details of the course and coursework deadlines etc from the relevant Year Course Booklet by clicking on these links:
Year 10 course booklet
Year 11 course booklet

Years 12 and 13 (Sixth Form)

Students can take their interest in Design and Technology further through AS and A level study in the BeauSandVer consortium school sixth forms. For details of all courses on offer at Key Stage 5 go to the BeauSandVer consortium website.

Assessment

At KS3 students’ work is assessed by reference to their abilities and progress in analysing products, developing ideas, making products and evaluating products. Self assessment and assessment by staff are both important. Where possible support is available for pupils with special educational needs. Extension tasks are provided for the more able pupils. Students undertaking GCSE courses are assessed through examination and coursework.

Resources

The Department is well provided with well equipped workshops for Resistant Materials, Graphics, Textiles and Food Technology.

The Technology Team