A level Theory

Introduction

AQA A Level Design and Technology is a two year linear course where you sit two written examinations in the summer of the final year.

These two examinations constitute 50% of your A Level.

The remaining 50% is from the Non-Examination Assessment (NEA) which is a substantial design task with a portfolio of design work and prototype outcome(s). AKA - Coursework.

While the study of materials and processes will support your work in the NEA, you need to learn the theoretical content necessary for the examination.

In these examinations, 25% of the questions will address maths and science knowledge.

Technical Principles

Paper 1

This content will be mostly covered in Year 12.

(2 hours 30 mins) (30% of the award)

Paper 1 covers topics such as: Technical principles such as materials and their properties, forming processes, finishes and material enhancement, scales of production, digital design and design for manufacture, responsible product development, enterprise and intellectual property and design communication.

Designing and Making Principles

Paper 2

This content that will be mostly covered in Year 13.

(1 hour 30 mins) (20% of the award)

Paper 2 covers topics such as: Design and make principles such as design processes and theory, design history, technological change, critical analysis, accuracy in design, design for manufacture and project management.

4D Printing

Your responsibility

While your teacher will deliver material and assess your progress, you need to take responsibility for your own learning. A full set of Power Point slides may be made available to you, but they are not as detailed as the textbook which you should be using every lesson to support your studies.

Regular assessment will highlight where you may lack understanding or can improve. Please do not take this as criticism, it is intended to highlight weaker areas where you can make improvements and strengthen your knowledge. Use the textbook and the past paper questions to test yourself and feel free to ask for another paper if you would like to try another question. Do go through the papers that your teacher marks and try to identify where you lost marks. Ask your teacher for advice if you are not sure.

Finally, many students think ‘theory’ is boring but, if you enjoy the subject and aspire to work in design or engineering, it is vital knowledge, not just for the examination, but for enriching your design skills and knowledge, so make the most of it and try and enjoy the lessons! And remember, no matter how good your project is, it’s just 50% of the marks; the rest is made up of examinations!

Essential Equipment

The presentation materials used in these units will be shared with you but only after assessments have been completed for each topic. Everyone learns in different ways and these slides are just a summary of the course content, so you are expected to take your own notes in each lesson then read the chapter in the textbook.

text books

You may have the AQA textbook, AQA revision book and the Maths and Science book with you at each lesson.

Note taking equipment

You should also have pen, pencil, rubber and a notebook or lined paper which you can put into a file. These notes should be separated with dividers so you can organize your content.

Revision

Advanced level study expects that you become an independent learner and take responsibility for your progress. Here are a few tips:

Use the AQA textbook

You should constantly refer to your textbook in order to read more on a particular topic as these slides are simply a summary of the chapters in the book with key facts and terms.

Activities

Again, the book is useful as it has subject related activities in each unit.

Past papers

Relevant past paper questions and the year of the exam are added after the summary of each unit. Marks schemes are also available if you want to test your own knowledge of a unit.

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