Specialists - Design & Technology
A-level Product Design Course
Shown here are a variety of the projects made by the students at BSM in the last year. It shows the variety of work done by the students from the smaller projects at KS3 to the furniture and department signs at higher levels. The majority of work produced is to a high standard, reflecting the hard work, enthusiasm and dedication of both the department staff and the students. Design Technology at BSM continues the course started in Primary. The students in Years 7, 8 and 9 design and manufacture a variety of products which become more complex and involved as they progress. The work is designed to prepare them for GCSE by focusing on product design as well as giving them a wide variety of skills and knowledge. At GCSE the students all study AQA Design Technology: Product Design. In Y10 they design and make 2 major projects which prepares them for their GCSE coursework, which they start at the end of the year. Y11 is spent designing and manufacturing their product. At the end of the course they sit a 2 hour examination for 40% of their grade and the coursework is assessed for the remaining 60%. At this level products can be manufactured from a huge range of materials and the students are encouraged to use their imagination to design something out of the ordinary. At A level, Product Design continues, and focuses on students working in more realistic design situations. Their full design and creative skills are encouraged, allowing them to work in areas that they may wish to develop in further education. They work more independently and develop their own style of design. At A2 they can work with a client to design and manufacture their product and so replicate how a designer might work in “the real world”. Students go from BSM into all areas of design and engineering, from advertising to furniture design, from product design to architecture. The portfolio of work they produce here can be a deciding factor in getting them onto the course they want and the staff work alongside them to develop there potential to the full and giving them skills that can be used in a variety of careers.
DT SPECIALIST
Welcome to the Secondary Design Technology page.
The Head of Department is ably assisted by Mr Vince Connor and Mr Geoffrey Holloway and we work to encourage an independence of learning in the students. We are supported by our technician Sanil Kumar and teaching assistants Helen Al Maskry and Sandra Mooney.
Between the staff there are a huge range of skills and knowledge, which are tested to the full at GCSE and A Level, and we are always looking at ways to improve the facilities available to the students. The staff themselves are not akin to using the equipment we have in an imaginative way to make that design possible (where there’s a will there’s a way!).
The department is a thriving environment and the students enjoy their experiences in DT to such an extent that the majority of the work is taken home. They are always keen to work on their projects and will endeavour to be in the workshops before their teacher has had a chance to take a break or finish that coffee!
Mr Stephen Massey
Head of Design Technology.
