Design & Technology

Design & Technology is a practical and valuable subject. Through D&T all students will have the opportunity to actively contribute to the creativity, culture, wealth and well-being of themselves, their community, and their nation.

Whilst success is celebrated, every failure within Design & Technology can also be a reason for joy. Dyson famously took 15 years and 5,127 prototypes before creating a vacuum cleaner that worked perfectly and would become a household name. Lengthy R&D and prototyping phases continue to be a core part of the production cycle and innovation at Dyson, and this is mirrored in the design and technology curriculum too where students will be encouraged to innovate and try new ideas at every possibility. You will have three lessons over a fortnight.

D&T.mp4

Course materials

Through a range of equipment in our new purpose-built workshop, students will get to develop skills in manufacturing, working with plastics, woods and metals, whilst considering sustainability, safety, and users. A laser cutter, 3D printers, vacuum formers, pillar drills, fluidised baths and other pieces of equipment will be used in the creation of quality products alongside traditional hand tools and skills.

How will I learn?

You will learn through a series of design and make projects. Each project will have a focus, an area of study that will lead students to develop their design skills and build knowledge of different tools and materials.

Plastics and metal will be a key starting point and their journey in Year 9 will end with a contextual challenge. Students will be set a context to investigate and explore, before choosing a path and setting their own design brief and presenting a prototype that solves a problem.

D&T topics

Understanding users
Learning about materials
Learning how things work
Analysing products
Designing, including computer-aided design
Making: including the use of computer-aided manufacturing but also traditional hand skills
Evaluating your own as well as other’s work
The environment and issues of sustainability

How will I be assessed?

Each project will be assessed against the key areas for design and technology

Investigation – analysis of the context and research into the problem and its possible solutions
Design – creativity and communication of design ideas through technical drawing, including computer-aided design
Development – developing designs and ideas towards a final solution through modelling, prototyping and further research
Making – high quality and accurate production, using a range of processes and materials whilst staying safe
Review – testing and evaluating your work and the work of others
Sustainability – awareness of the impact of design and manufacture in every area of study

If you have any queries about this curriculum, please contact: Mr Jamie Morris, Head of D&T, on jm@farlingtonschool.com