Design & Technology
Pupils at MHS follow and exceed the guidance of the National Curriculum in Design and Technology. Pupils are set design challenges that immerse them in local, national and global contexts. They identify and solve practical problems within those contexts and develop an empathy for the needs of others. To meet those needs, they will draw upon not only design skills but also use cross curricular links in Mathematics, Science, Geography, Computing and Art. The economy of Design and Technology is teaching all pupils life skills that will be used outside of the classroom for life.
Our specialist teachers offer a range of extra-curricular activities such as:
Quilt Making
Pupils work on a collaborative project (large quilt) as well as creating a smaller quilted piece that they can take home. To learn about a range of contemporary quilt makers. pupils to develop machine and hand stitching skills. To enhance pupils love of sewing and creating.
Fashion - Pattern Cutting
Pupils learn about the skill of recycling by turning something old into something new. They will be shown how to create their own patterns using paper modelling. Pupils will make a fabric product as a teacher led activity to learn the basic skills needed for when they will independently design and make an item out of their own recycled fabric.
Key Stage 3
At KS3, each project develops a body of powerful knowledge derived from one or more subjects.
We aim to deepen concepts and provide real life industry/scenarios for pupils so they can apply their knowledge in their future endeavours. For example, our Emoji Keyring project draws upon core principles from Textiles and Geography as the pupil's study Japanese culture.
Alongside, pupils nurture their habits of mind: creative problem solving, the design process, ethical consideration, communicating, listening and curiosity. These habits align with our school’s core values, support the school aims of developing self-motivated, collaborative, confident and responsible learners and develop key skills for employability. Pupils follow the iterative process of explore, make and evaluate, pupils create a variety of artifacts, both digital and physical. These include computer aided designs, sketches, videos, physical prototypes and models. All projects result in a specific product design which is a physical item that pupils can take home. Pupils present their ideas for feedback using a range of communication strategies, including sketching and presentations. We aim to make all pupils effective, confident communicators that by the end of the course of study, are industry ready.
Key Stage 4
Design and Technology is one of the three qualifications that form part of our Design Faculty, which also includes Computer Science and Food & Nutrition. Our Design and Technology GCSE is based on the OCR Design & Technology qualification. Our pupils:
- Build on learning from our Key Stage 3 programme through years 7-9.
- Learn about fundamental design principles through practical projects, including Textile, Graphics and Resistant Materials (being developed into the programme of study).
- Learn the design process of design, make and evaluate through projects including:
Prototyping with card, fabric, timber, plastics and metal.
Explore creative uses for our laser cutter and 3D printers (CAD/CAM).
In year 2, pupils take part in a product design NEA coursework which represents 50% of the course marks. In this task, pupils investigate a context, identify problems to solve, and then create a unique, innovative solution and physical product. Our pupils become skilled and ethically considerate designers by applying their understanding of creative problem solving, materials, manufacture, the circular
