Design and Technology is a subject focused on solving problems with creative and imaginative solutions. Our students are introduced to challenging, relevant and exciting concepts that encourage them to think up and create solutions that demonstrate understanding, originality and possibility. 

In a world where technology is now part of everyone’s daily life, it is vital to understand how things work and the knock on effects this might have for the world we live in. Understanding how materials, manufacturing process and design procedures work in respect to environmental, sustainable, moral and ethical decisions is part of creating “good design” and a focus we adopt in Design and Technology at Samuel Ward Academy.

The department offers a course that follows the AQA Design & Technology: Product Design Specification. Product Design encompasses each of the individual disciplines that originally made up Design & Technology including: Resistant Materials, Textiles, Graphic Products & Electronics. The GCSE will focus on teaching the “Core Values” for each of these disciplines while then going on to specialise on one of these in more detail.

With the resources and facilities available within the department, this focus is likely to lean towards the use of timber and paper/card based materials, although opportunities to work with a wider range of materials will be available throughout the GCSE. There will also be a high level of computer-aided design (CAD) work that will be expected, relying heavily on IT skills and the ability to communicate design ideas effectively so they can be produced with the use of computer-aided manufacture (CAM).

A variety of skills are desirable for the GCSE as it is made up practical, theory and creative skills. Pupils will need to be able to conduct a range of research strategies that support them producing a series of design ideas that are sketched in 3D. In addition to this they will be expected to communicate about them effectively with the use of written language and accurate terminology, develop selected ideas suitably and then manufacture and evaluate them accurately through workshop tools and testing. This wide range of skills is demanding, but allows pupils to obtain a wealth of knowledge that can be used to go on a study an extensive list of post GCSE college courses, A-levels and apprenticeships.