Overview
The Department of Design and Technology at the Bishop of Winchester Academy is in the process of undergoing fundamental change. We have recognised that the demands of Industry do not always match the curriculum. We have adjusted teaching at both KS3 and KS4 to take into account the purpose of Technology as a means of providing a balanced education that can be taken into further and Higher Education or used as a resource to benefit everyday understanding and wellbeing.
To this end the Department has undertaken to deliver the Curriculum in two main branches; these being
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Catering
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Product Design
Product Design
At KS3 pupils are introduced to a variety of materials that can be used to manufacture consumer articles in the market place. They have hands-on experience of designing and making artefacts using woods, man-made boards and plastics.
They are taught the theory of design and that it is the cumulative result of research, modelling, testing and evaluating that makes up Design and not just the ability to sketch. From early in year 7 they are encouraged to design for others and not just for themselves. The use of computers is becoming ever more necessary and a lot of development now takes place using a powerful 3D modelling programme called ProDesktop. Using the programme pupils can create a virtual model of their intended design which can be colour.
In the near future we are hopeful of being able to purchase some Computer Operated machinery that will enable us to not only Design but also Produce artefacts to and
Industrial standard.
Projects at year 7 include the redesigning and modelling of a Kitchen.
Using measurements obtained from their own home kitchen pupils construct a 1:20 scale model, redesigning the kitchen and adding the appliances they want, after taking into account the functionality and ergonomics of kitchen design. It may be cardboard engineering but the results can be very realistic!
In Yr 8 pupils continue to expand their skills at using materials and hand tools and gain further experience in the use of Computer Aided Design. Projects become more difficult as the functions such as ‘rotate’ and ‘shell’ are used more often to produce realist computer models and models of assemblies. The construction of a simple hand torch my seem easy but can present problems if you do not understand the basics.
The KS4 Product Design examination course now starts in Yr 9, and if good progress is made, the GCSE examination can be taken at the end of Yr 10. The main part of the coursework is the Design and Making of a product that can be adapted fore industrial production. The choice of project is very far ranging but it must be designed for production and use the skills mastered during the course. For the 2007 / 2008 examination jewellery boxes proved to be very popular as also did the production of toys for very young children. Some of the high quality outcomes are shown below. With the addition of our much needed Computer Aided Manufacturing machinery the products should be even more adventurous and of even higher quality.