Design and Technology (Product Design)

Course summary

The aims of Product Design are to encourage students to develop and sustain their own innovation, creativity and design and technology capability, to recognise constraints and to produce high quality products. Students will be encouraged to develop a critical understanding of the influences of the processes and products of design and technological activity from a historical perspective and in current practice. Fifty percent of the overall award is earned through design coursework projects where students are expected to adopt a commercial approach to designing and making their own products. Fifty percent is through written examination. The examination is a synoptic assessment requiring students to work across different parts of a qualification and to show their accumulated knowledge and understanding of a topic or subject area. Synoptic assessment enables students to show their ability to combine their skills, knowledge and understanding with breadth and depth of the subject. The examined unit contains a substantial content (15%) where GCSE Higher Tier maths knowleged is required.