Design Technology

YEAR 7 TOPICS

Product Design	Resistant Materials
Students will gain a knowledge of a range of electronic components and circuits. Over the course the students will use their new knowledge to design and build a Buzz wire game, using a range of tools and materials.	Students will develop their practical skills and make a stylish birdfeeder using traditional hand tools. This will utilise skills that students will learn throughout the project.
Textiles	Graphics
In Year 7 we cover how to use textiles equipment safely to design and make a cushion cover for a client. They will also learn where fabrics come from, how they are made, and how the different fibres affect their properties.	They then start to consider importance and scope of Graphic Design. They research and design graphics for a personalised product, which is then printed onto a mug for them to take home.

Product Design	Resistant Materials
Students learn about coding and using the BBC micro:bit. Students will work on a range of different codes, radio signals and bluetooth control. They will use their knowledge to design a unique game based on a clear theme.	This course brings in target markets, with students producing an acrylic clock for a teenager. Before designing and making pupils are taught a range of traditional and contemporary skills and they use this to inform them how to make their designs independently.
Textiles	Graphics
Students develop their textiles skills both hand skills and machine skills to design and make a reusable shopping bag. They also build on their knowledge of fabric properties, sources and origins. Designing within the constraints of a design brief, they explore the social responsibilities that designers face today.	.Their Graphics project brings in the history and impact of modern technology in design. The course teaches the skills of computer aided design leading to a 3D printed product with packaging.

Product Design	Resistant Materials
Students are introduced to the 6R's and sustainability. They will each design and make a speaker for a chosen purpose, using a range of tools, materials and CAD/CAM. The brief gives them the freedom to create something completely different and challenge themselves to try something new.	Students build on previous knowledge of CAD/CAM and material properties and discover how mechanisms work and why they are useful in products. This goes on to allow them to design and make a mechanical toy aimed at promoting a child’s TV show/film.
Textiles	Graphics
Students will design and make a piece of winter headwear within a theme of their choice. A broader design brief allows students to develop creativity and innovation, designing their own unique product and selecting the appropriate techniques and materials to use.	Students research paper engineering, and improve and expand on their previous knowledge to design, model and create a pop-up book to advertise and promote a film to the general public.