Why Design & Technology?
A-Level Design & Technology is essentially a practical course in which students will have the opportunity to continue to develop both their design and making skills previously gained at GCSE. The course will be of interest to anyone wishing to pursue a career in the field of Design & Technology but it may equally be considered by students wishing to keep their options open by simply selecting three or four wide ranging A-Levels which will provide them with a sound basis for university entrance.

Roles, Responsibilities and Professional Designers
In addition to developing their designing and making skills, students will begin to consider the role and responsibilities of the professional designer. This will involve developing an understanding of environmental issues and the application of a variety of technologies within production processes both at an industrial level and in the school workshop. They will also study the way in which the designer responds to human needs and participates in the shaping of human values.

Higher Education & Careers
Design and Technology is an excellent A-level for anyone considering a career in the field of design. Coupled with Mathematics and/or Physics it is an ideal combination for those design courses with a bias towards engineering such as Industrial Design or Automotive Design. Coupled with Art and Design it will equip students for the more aesthetically biased courses such as Consumer Product Design or Packaging Design. There is, of course, a national shortage of teachers of Design and Technology and anyone considering this option as a career would find this course essential.

The Course Structure - AS

The students will study three units at AS level - Unit1, Unit 2 , and Unit 3

Unit 1: Industrial and commercial products and practices
This unit enables students to develop understanding of industrial and commercial practices through the investigation and analysis of a range of commercial products. Unit 1 areas of study include:

• products and applications – the processes involved in product design and development
• materials and components – the range of materials and their working characteristics
• industrial and commercial practice – the processes involved in product manufacture,including manufacturing systems, stages of production, detailed manufacturing methods,
service to the customer, energy use in industry and the use of ICT systems
• quality – the importance of quality to the success of products
• health and safety – health and safety at work and risk assessment.

Unit 1 subject content is delivered through a range of taught elements, investigative activities and focused tasks. Students undertake product analysis to investigate the design, manufacture, use and disposal of a range of products. This enables students to learn about the influences on product development, specifications, materials and components, manufacturing systems, stages of production, manufacturing methods, customer care, environmental issues, ICT, quality systems, health and safety.

Students can be encouraged to work:

• collaboratively on some investigative activities, eg when analysing a range of products
• individually on some tasks, eg when developing creative communication skills to record the
investigation of products. Communication skills can include writing, drawing, sketching,
graphics, charts, flow diagrams, systems diagrams, CAD, modeling etc
• individually on the detailed analysis of one product, to gain a personal understanding of
product development and manufacture.

In order to cover the subject content, the range of products selected for analysis should include those manufactured by the following methods of production:

• one-off (job production, custom-made or bespoke)
• batch production
• mass production (line production or high volume production)
• continuous production.

Unit 1 assessment: Product Analysis Exam

• Unit 1 prepares students for assessment through a 1½ hour Product Analysis exam, which
assesses understanding of the unit subject content.

Link to student revision notes for product analysis

Unit 2: Product Development 1 - The first Coursework Project

At AS level, students are expected to take a commercial approach to designing and making products to meet needs that are wider than their oAt AS level, students are expected to take a commercial approach to designing and making products to meet needs that are wider than their own. This could mean designing and making a one-off product for a specified user or client, or designing and making a prototype product that could be batch-produced or mass-produced for users in a target market group.

This year the theme set by the school for this project has been a display device controlled by a PIC chip. Students have to design the display using a range of graphical techniques including Pro desktop. The final design must function and be made to a high standard. They have access to the full range of workshop facilities including CNC machines, Laser cutter, and 3D machining centre.

A design folder must also be produced recording the design process. The coursework is marked internally and moderated externally.

Unit 3 Materials,components and systems with options

This is made up of two sections

Section A Materials,components and systems

• Classification of materials and components. Link to materials
• Working properties and processes,
• Testing (materials) Link to materials testing

Section B

• This year we are doing CAD/CAM. We are well equipped with CAD/CAM equipment.

Unit 3 Assessment is by Examination

The examination for this unit has two parts and 45 minutes should be spent on each part.

The Course Structure - A2

Unit 4: Further study of materials,components and systems with options

Unit 4 is broadly the same as unit 3 but clearly in greater depth. Assessment is again through a 1½ hour written exam.

Unit 5: Product development II -The Major Design Project
The major design project is intended to occupy approximately 70 hours of contact time but students should be aware that this will need to be supplemented by a considerable amount of private study calling for a high degree of self-discipline, organisation and motivation.

The major project allows students considerable freedom to identify and select a design problem in an area which will both interest and motivate them as well as allowing them to develop new skills with materials and processes. The major project is internally assessed and then moderated by Edexcel.
Projects undertaken in the past have included:

Design Workstations
Electronics Teaching System for Primary School Pupils
Cycle Repair Stand
Outdoor Furniture
A child friendly can crusher
Children's Furniture
Rocking Horse for Children with Cerebral Palsy
Hi-fi Speakers
Portable Easel

Unit 6: Design and technology capability

This unit is about capability bringing together the knowledge, understanding and skills learned throughout the whole Advanced GCE course. Students are expected to develop a synoptic understanding. Synoptic understanding involves developing and applying knowledge and understanding related to the full design and technology course and making connections between individual bits of learning. Key areas are listed below.

• knowledge and understanding of product development and manufacture
• knowledge and understanding of materials, components, processes, systems, technology,
scale of production, quality, health and safety, markets, users, cultural, social, moral and
environmental issues.

Unit 6: Design Paper

This examination gives students the chance to demonstrate design and technology capability through a three hour
Design Paper. Students should produce a design solution to a given design problem and describe how it can be manufactured. Students should demonstrate the ability to ‘think on their feet’, not to recall information.

A design research paper is sent out well before the exam.

The Design paper will have one compulsory design question that is based on the Design Research Paper. All research materials may be taken into the Design Exam and used as reference throughout, eg notes, data, materials information, and anthropometric data, British Standards and other information – but this research material is NOT submitted for assessment. The pasting of pre-prepared or photocopied sheets is NOT permitted.