Key Stage 4
We currently offer two GCSE's within the Design and Technology faculty. Details of which can be found below:
OCR Food Preparation and Nutrition (J309 Specification Code)
This course is designed to give students a well rounded understanding of the science behind food, in addition to this it allows students to develop and expand upon their culinary skills.
OCR Food Preparation and Nutrition would be beneficial to any student wishing to move into a career within hospitality, food manufacture or food science.
The course consists of an exam and two coursework components, further details can be found below:
Overall Percentage of GCSE: 50%
Paper Length: 1 hour 30 minutes
Maximum Marks: 100
Type: Exam.
Timescale: June of year 11.
This exam will cover content from the following sections and will be a combination of multiple choice and extended answer questions:
- Section A - Nutrition
- Section B - Food: food provenance and food choice
- Section C - Cooking and food preparation
- Section D - Skills requirements: preparation and cooking techniques
Overall Percentage of GCSE: 15%
Maximum Marks: 45
Type: Non-examined assessment (NEA).
Timescale: September to November of year 11.
This NEA will cover content from the following sections and students will have a context in which to create a food science investigation from:
- Section A - Nutrition
- Section B - Food: food provenance and food choice
- Section C - Cooking and food preparation
- Section D - Skills requirements: preparation and cooking techniques
Overall Percentage of GCSE: 35%
Maximum Marks: 105
Type: Non-examined assessment (NEA), including a practical exam.
Timescale: November to March of year 11.
This NEA will cover content from the following sections and students will have a context in which to design and create a three course meal from:
- Section A - Nutrition
- Section B - Food: food provenance and food choice
- Section C - Cooking and food preparation
- Section D - Skills requirements: preparation and cooking techniques
AQA Design and Technology (8552 Specification Code)
This course is designed to allow students the freedom to explore contexts and provides them with a repertoire of knowledge and skills that can be of benefit to a wide range of future careers and industries; examples of which could include the energy, construction and design sector to name but a few.
The course consists of an exam and a coursework component, further details can be found below:
Overall Percentage of GCSE: 50%
Paper Length: 2 hours.
Maximum Marks: 100
Type: Exam.
Timescale: June of year 11.
This exam will cover content from the following sections and at least 15% of the exam will assess Maths and 10% will assess Science:
- Section A – Core technical principles (20 marks); a mixture of multiple choice and short answer questions assessing a breadth of technical knowledge and understanding.
- Section B – Specialist technical principles (30 marks); several short answer questions (2–5 marks) and one extended response to assess a more in depth knowledge of technical principles.
- Section C – Designing and making principles (50 marks); a mixture of short answer and extended response questions.
Overall Percentage of GCSE: 50%
Maximum Marks: 100
Type: Non-examined assessment (NEA).
Timescale: June of year 10 to March of year 11.
The NEA will cover the practical application of:
- Core technical principles
- Specialist technical principles
- Designing and making principles
The NEA is iterative, however for the purpose of marking it is broken down into the following sections:
- Section A - Identifying & investigating design possibilities (10 marks)
- Section B - Producing a design brief & specification (10 marks)
- Section C - Generating design ideas (20 marks)
- Section D - Developing design ideas (20 marks)
- Section E - Realising design ideas (20 marks)
- Section F - Analysing & evaluating (20 marks)
Design & Technology News
- Royal Navy Food Tech Practical
A cooking session with members of our Armed Forces. (27/02/2024)