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Design & Technology (Resistant and Textiles)

  Design & Technology (Resistant and Textiles)
Design and Technology provides the opportunity for students to practice a range of skills which allows them to engage positively with the designed world around them. They learn how products and systems are designed and manufactured; past, present and future, specifically linking to career opportunities within Milton Keynes. Students develop their understanding on how to be innovative and to make creative use of a variety of resources including digital technologies. They understand about the needs of different users and how products are designed to suit the intended environment whilst questioning the moral, social and environmental impact that products have. Students are introduced to a range of STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Maths) careers that relate to the topic’s studied, showing them real life applications for the skills learnt and highlighting STEM choices within the local area. Design and Technology regularly promotes STEAM skills and attributes within it’s lessons; Critical thinking, problem solving, collaboration, as well as offering students the opportunity to cover other STEAM subject’s theory continent covered in practical ways.
In Design and Technology students explore their creativity through experimenting with a wide range of processes and materials. Students will go own their own iterative design journeys through a range of; practical investigations, researching tasks, generation of ideas, development of ideas through serval forms of modelling to complete a final prototype. Students will evaluate and test throughout the process, to inform design decisions. In Key Stage 4 and 5, students independently research into the work of others, respond creatively to solve design problems, utilise modelling to effectively to communicate their ideas and collect third party options when evaluating. Design and Technology covers a wide range of materials which includes; woods, metals, plastics & fabrics. Students can select to study Design and Technology at GCSE focusing on either Resistant (Computer Aided design, Plastics and Timbers) or Textiles (Computer Aided Design, Paper and Boards and Fabrics).
Design and Technology students will use several CAD packages and will sample several manufacturing processes including Computer Aided Manufacture (CAM). Modelling and iterative design features heavily within the course and mirrors current processes used within industry. Students are encouraged to link their understanding of materials and processes learnt, to make their own decisions on how best to manufacture their created designs in their final prototypes.