Design & Technology

gcse 9-1

AQA

How will this subject benefit me?

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 course 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 will I learn?

Our GCSE Design and Technology course sets out the knowledge, understanding and skills required to undertake the iterative design process of exploring, creating and evaluating. The majority of the course will be delivered through the practical application of this knowledge and understanding.

The subject content has been split into three sections as follows:

Core technical principles
Specialist technical principles
Designing and making principles

Core technical principles covers core technical principles and all content will be taught. This is covered through theory lessons and small focused practical tasks.

Specialist technical principles covers specialist technical principles where students will go into greater depth. Each principle should be taught through at least one material catergory or system. We focus on TIMBER as our specialist material. This is delivered through theory lessons and extended mini projects.

Designing and making principles covers design and making principles and all content in this section will be taught. This is delivered in theory lessons and small focused practical tasks.

Who is this course appropriate for?

This course is ideally suited to learners with a preference for practical, rather than theoretical learning as there is a large focus on creativity. Students will need to be well organised and passionate in order to achieve high grades with practical tasks and coursework. Students will also need to have a keen interest in the design process as a whole and be interested in developing their design and development skills.

How will I be assessed?

Non-Examined Assessment 50%

This focuses on designing and making skills and is an online portfolio and practical outcome

Examined assessment 50%

This is 2 hours long and covers the theory including;

Core Technical Principles (20 marks) (Timber). Short answer and multiple choice questions

Specialist Technical Principles (30 marks) (other materials and processes) Short answer questions and one extended response to assess understanding

Designing and Making principles (50 marks) a mix of short and extended response questions

At least 15% of the exam will assess maths – you need to make sure you show your working out to get ALL the marks

At least 10% of the exam will assess science

What opportunities will this give me?

Successful students will be well prepared for further education courses and careers in the design sector including the following careers:

Architect
Product Designer
Industrial Designer
Smart Interior Designer
Smart Interior installation
Exhibition Designer
Structural Engineer

COURSE SPecification

For further information, see the course specification on the following link: https://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/design-and-technology/gcse/design-and-technology-8552/specification/specification-at-a-glance

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