Design Technology is an engaging, challenging, and hands-on subject that prepares students for the demands of the 21st century. Here at The Dorcan Academy, our goal is to inspire students to develop inventive solutions by employing the iterative design approach. With a strong foundation of subject knowledge, we encourage students to utilize various materials, manufacturing methods, and processes to systematically refine prototypes tailored to meet user needs.
We aspire to nurture well-rounded learners, underpinning The Dorcan Academy character virtues, in particular, resilience, courage, and personal responsibility; developing individuals who can independently navigate workshops and explore new ideas within their portfolios, thereby enhancing their expertise and practical skills. This approach opens doors to further educational pursuits and opportunities in the industry for all our students.
In Product Design last year, 26.4% of students achieved grades 9 to 5; and 52.6% achieved grades 9 to 4.
Assessments enable us to measure the progress that our students are making, providing us with information to support students to make further progress. In Design Technology we begin with a baseline assessment which allows us to gain an understanding of students’ knowledge, perceptions and misconceptions prior to teaching the content; this is informative and provides us with clear direction for planning and teaching.
We then use regular low stakes quizzes and recall activities to check knowledge and understanding of topics covered. Termly cumulative assessments are used to assess familiarity of contents covered and identify areas for further improvement. Summative assessments take place at the end of learning where students have the opportunity to demonstrate mastery of new learning and celebrate student accomplishment. Throughout, students are provided with both constructive verbal and written feedback, enabling them to develop and demonstrate understanding through progress tasks.
Mrs Jazz Bansal-Momi – Head of Design Technology and Business
Mr James Allen – Design Technology and Business teacher
Mr Christopher Holland – Design Technology Teacher
Mrs Varsha Chawla – Teacher of Food & Nutrition
All students study Product Design throughout Years 7 and 8 at The Dorcan Academy and may choose to continue it in Year 9 to follow through to GCSE.
In Year 7 and 8, all students have 2 lessons a fortnight. In Year 9, students that have selected to specialise in Product Design will receive 3 lessons a fortnight.
In Design Technology students are able to pursue extra-curricular sessions. On a Thursday night we offer a Cooking Club which equips students with the knowledge, understanding and cooking skills required to apply the principles of healthy eating. Furthermore, it encourages students to be adventurous in their cooking and enables them to make informed choices about their own diet. We also guide students through STEAM learning and exploration; from discovery, to exploring, and then to challenge, students will understand the basics of STEAM and apply the skills in an exciting competition while building teamwork skills along the way. In addition to this, we offer drop in sessions for KS4 students to catch up on missed work/intervention.
GCSE Design and Technology – AQA – BBC Bitesize
