Good design is making something intelligible and memorable. Great design is making something memorable and meaningful.
The design studios and workshops in the Jerwood School of Design provide a large and particularly well-resourced space for pupils to develop their design and engineering skills.
All pupils in Forms Lower 1 (Year 6) to Form 3 (Year 9) are given the opportunity to explore a wide range of design and make activities, to encourage them to use all of the equipment and facilities on offer. The resulting designs include rapid prototype 3D-printed multi-adaptor charging cables, wooden desk tidies, Bluetooth speakers and electronic games. This grounding gives pupils a really enjoyable introduction to designing and making products before choosing to take it further at GCSE level.
Pupils who then go on to study GCSE DT develop their creativity and imagination further to design and make prototypes that consider their own and others’ needs, wants and values.
Post-16 students can choose between A-level and IB Diploma Design Technology courses, which offer students the chance to develop a broad view of Design and Technology, and to really appreciate the relationship between design, materials, manufacture and marketing.
Pupils are able to participate in the many educational trips and visits that we organise to destinations that include museums, factories, and the biennial trip to Bologna.