Overview

GCSE Design and Technology will prepare students to participate confidently and successfully in an increasingly technological world. Students will gain awareness and learn from wider influences on Design and Technology including historical, social, cultural, environmental and economic factors. Students will get the opportunity to work creatively when designing and making and apply technical and practical expertise. This GCSE allows students to study core technical and designing and making principles, including a broad range of design processes, materials techniques and equipment.

This subject should appeal to a creative student who is capable of independent and innovative thinking.  Students will also be required to develop their time management skills and possess a strong work ethic.  There are a number of designing and making tasks, as well a sound theoretical framework.

Topics covered

Design and technology is a very broad based, creative, subject that is designed to enable students to develop independent thinking skills. As such, it is a skill set that is transferable to almost all career paths. In addition to this, students of design and technology at GCSE can expect their career opportunities to be particularly enhanced within the follow occupations:

Product design, architecture, construction, teaching, furniture making and interior design

There are also a range of apprenticeships that link to an interest in design technology, including:  junior product designer, theatre set design, service technician, civil engineering technician, jewellery designer, plumber, design and drafting technician and engineering model maker.

The course will focus on Materials and will cover the following core skill and knowledge:

• • impact of new and emerging technologies.

  • energy.

  • modern and smart materials

  • ecological and social footprint

  • investigating and analysing the work of others

  • Materials

  • Wood, Metals and Plastics

Skills you will develop

• Iterative designing skills: researching, analysing, planning, drawing, modelling, testing and evaluating. 

• Thinking and planning skills: measuring, accurate cutting of materials and developing practical products.

• Materials knowledge and specifications / properties / computer skills/ systems and control.

• Students also need to develop an understanding of industrial processes and techniques and how they relate to everyday products manufacture. 

• Employability skills

• Team work

• Time management – meeting deadlines

• Presentation and communication skills

• Confidence and positive attitude

• Practical application of maths

• Problem solving

• IT skills 

Assessments

Component 1 - Examination worth 50%

The paper includes simple calculations, one word and one sentence questions as well as extended-writing questions focused on:

• analysis and evaluation of design decisions and outcomes, against a technical principle, for prototypes made by others

• analysis and evaluation of wider issues in design technology, including social, moral, ethical and environmental impacts.

The paper is split into section A “core” and section B “material” categories and is a written exam, which is externally assessed. Students must answer all questions in section A based on the Core of all materials studied. Students must answer questions on the materials they have specialised in, (Metals, Cardboards, Plastics or Timbers), in more depth in section B

Component 2 - Design & Make project worth 50%

Three themes will be provided by the board on 1st June each year, from which students must choose one to respond to. Students will produce a project which consists of a portfolio and a prototype.

There are four parts to the assessment:

• Part 1: Investigate

• Part 2: Design

• Part 3: Make

• Part 4: Evaluate

This is internally assessed and externally moderated.

FAQs

Do I have to be good at drawing?

• No but the willingness to improve your communication skills over time is important, as well as the ability to be creative. As you will be working with a wide range of material areas including fabrics.

Will I have the same DT teacher?

• Not necessarily. All of our Design & Technology teachers teach GCSE, so you might have the same teacher as you do in year 8, but you could also have a new one. 

Is there a lot of practical work?

• You will be developing practical skills through accessed pieces of work on a range of materials, but there is also written work and drawing too. This is to help prepare you to sit the final 2 hour exam in Y11, answering questions on a wide range of materials.

Can I make what I want?

• In Y11 your final portfolio of work for your Non-Examined Assessment (NEA) is based upon 3 contexts that the exam board set. You will then have to identify a problem and choose a design problem that you wish to design and make a solution for.

How will I be assessed at the end to achieve my final grade?

• You will complete a 2 hour exam split into 2 sections worth 50% and a NEA portfolio 50%

  • Section A: Focuses questions on DT in our world

  • Section B: In depth questions on a specific in depth material

• NEA Portfolio based on 3 contexts set by the exam board worth 50%.

• This includes research, designing and developing ideas including CAD, modelling ideas, making a final prototype and evaluation of the solution.

What exam board syllabus do we study? 

Eduqas.

What can I do with GCSE Design Technology? (in terms of A-levels, apprenticeships, careers etc)

• You can go and study A level Design technology, Product Design or 3D Design, or you may move onto other apprenticeship courses in engineering, construction, or design media. Future possible careers include architecture, product designer, interior designer, and engineering including CAD engineering.