Page 7 - Kingham Hill School GCSE prospectus

Course Catalogue A - Z

Design and Technology

(Edexcel GCSE 1DT0)

Everything – from football boots to iPads, bikes to mobiles, furniture to buildings – has been
designed. Pupils of Design and Technology learn to understand the balance between looking good
(aesthetics) and meeting a demand (function), and to design products that will benefit others. They
gain real life skills, by managing a project from start to finish, including scheduling personal time,
analysing similar products and developing their own concepts, before finally manufacturing their
most successful solution.

Design and Technology encourages creativity and innovation when responding to the needs of
others. It nurtures problem-solving skills and design thinking, both of which can be applied to a
range of existing and future careers. In addition to learning about designing and making processes,
material technology and programmable systems and control, pupils develop important life skills
and personal qualities such as team working, resilience, resourcefulness and enterprise.

Units of study and examination criteria:

Pupils are assessed in two ways -

Non Examined Assessment (50%)
This includes a comprehensive portfolio of design work demonstrating how pupils have developed a
viable solution to a contextual challenge, as well as a manufactured working prototype of their most
successful design. Pupils work in four sections: Investigate, Design, Make and Evaluate.

Written Examination (50%)
At the end of Year 11, pupils will test their understanding of design theory as well as materials and
processes. This exam will be in two sections; the first will cover core content of the D&T curriculum,
and the second will focus on the specialised material category of timber.

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