FAQs

Why should I study GCSE Design & Technology?

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.

GCSE Design & Technology allows students to study core technical and designing and making principles, including a broad range of design processes, materials techniques and equipment. They will also have the opportunity to study specialist technical principles in greater depth.

What specification will we follow?

We will follow the AQA GCSE Design & Technology. For access to the full specification please follow the link below.

GCSE Design & Technology Specification

What will I learn throughout the GCSE Design & Technology course?

Throughout the course students will cover the following areas:

Core Technical Principles

• New & Emerging technologies (Industry, enterprise, sustainability, people, culture, society, environment, production techniques & systems, how the critical evaluation of new emerging technologies informs design decisions, )

• Energy generation & storage ( Fossil fuels, nuclear power, renewable energy, energy storage systems including batteries)

• Developments in new materials (Modern materials, smart material, composite materials, technical textiles)

• Systems approach to designing ( Input S & processes)

• Mechanical devices

• Materials and their working properties ( Material categories - paper & boards, metals & alloys, polymers, textiles, Material properties)

Specialist Technical Principles

• Selection of material or components

• Forces & stresses (Materials and objects can be manipulated to resist and work with forces and stresses, Materials can be enhances to resist & work with forces and stresses to improve functionality)

• Ecological & social footprint ( Social issues in design & manufacture of products, The 6 R's)

• Sources & origins

• Using & working with materials (Properties of materials, The modification of properties for specific purposes, How to shape and form using cutting, abrasion & addition)

• Stock forms, types & sizes

• Scales of production

• Specialist techniques & processes ( the use of production aids, tools, equipment & processes, how materials are cut shaped and formed to a tolerance, commercial processes, The application and use of quality control to include measurable and quantitive systems used during manufacture)

• Surface treatments & finishes

Designing & Making Principles

• Investigation, primary & secondary data, how to write a design brief and produce a design and manufacturing specification, carry out investigation in order to identfy problems & needs)

• Environmental, social & economic challenge

• The work of others

• Design strategies (Generate imaginative and creative design ideas using a range of different design strategies, explore and develop your own ideas)

• Communication of design ideas

• Prototype development

• Selection of materials & components

• Tolerances

• Material management (Cut materials and minimise waste, use appropriate marking out methods, data points and coordinates)

• Specialist tools & equipment

• Specialist techniques & processes (Surface treatments & finishes)

How will I be assessed in GCSE Design & Technology?

Students will sit 1 written exam at the end of year 11. This paper is worth 50% of the overall grade and is a 2 hour paper testing students knowledge of core technical principles, specialist technical principles and designing & making principles.

Students will also complete a piece of non exam assessment work. Students will create a design portfolio demonstrating the design process from ideas and the breif to the creation of a prototype. Students will be assessed on 4 assessment objectives:

• AO1: Identify, investigate and outline design possibilities to address needs and wants.

• AO2: Design and make prototypes that are fit for purpose.

• AO3: Analyse and evaluate:

  • design decisions and outcomes, including for prototypes made by themselves and others

  • wider issues in design and technology.

• AO4: Demonstrate and apply knowledge and understanding of:

  • technical principles

  • designing and making principles.

How can I succeed in GCSE Design & Technology?

In order to be a successful GCSE Design & Technology student all you need is enthusiasm, creativity, resilience, determination, independence, curiosity, confidence and be willing to embrace challenge !

You will be provided with all of the necessary resources to support you but ultimately it will be down to you to make the most of them. Your teacher will do everything they can to facilitate your learning but the responsibility to take on board and apply advice is ultimately down to you.

You will need to be prepared to spend some time, out of lessons, consolidating the learning that has occurred in class and revisiting terminology, processes and skills regularly. You will also need to be willing to use the specialist school facilities outside of lessons to ensure that work is as refined and finished in preparation for the submission of your NEA .

Am I allowed to choose more than 1 CAPA subject for my GCSE options?

Yes. You are being given 2 free option choices, although you will choose 4 initially. This is to ensure that you have a backup option should one of your chosen options not run. The free choice and no option blocks will allow you to select more than 1 CAPA subject should you wish.

What can I do once I have completed the course?

Design skills and the ability to visualise new ideas can be useful in many job families such as marketing, sales and advertising, arts crafts and design, broadcast media and performing arts, journalism and publishing, construction, as well as engineering and manufacturing

A GCSE in Design & Technology can lead to further study of academic & vocational design courses at A-Level or Level 3.

A GCSE in Design & Technology also gives you a range of valuable skills, including:

• Technical ability: You may need particular technical skills and specialist knowledge of how things work or need to be designed and built.

• Problem solving: Some jobs particularly require problem solving skills and creative thinking to recognise problems and their causes, to identify a range of possible solutions and then assess and decide the best way forward.

• Organisation: You’ll need to be able to plan and schedule work. This could include being able to prioritise what needs to be done and by when.

• Communication: If your job requires verbal communication, you may need to write or give speeches and presentations. For jobs which require written communication skills, you will need to write clearly and convincingly – you could be producing or dealing with legal documents or writing articles for a newspaper. You may also require good listening skills, the ability to negotiate, or to be persuasive.

• Creativity: You may need specific artistic or design skills for a job, or you may need to draw on a good imagination to come up with creative solutions to business challenges.

• Business management: Some jobs require a good understanding of how businesses work and the management skills to help the business run smoothly and succeed.

• Analytics: You’ll be collecting and examining information in detail to arrive at a solution, to answer a key question or make an informed decision.

• Customer service: Any job which involves contact with customers and the public requires good customer service skills. Whether it’s on the phone or face-to-face it’s important to be able to make customers feel welcome, to be polite and listen.

• Discipline: You need to know and do what is expected of you. This ranges from organising yourself, being on time, to being responsible. Some jobs need particular discipline skills such as being able to persevere with the task and plans until you accomplish them, or following strict procedures.

*This course will only run subject to the appointment of a subject specialist*