“Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works.”
Steve Jobs, Apple
The Faculty
The Art, Design, and Technology Faculty at Brinsworth Academy encompasses Art & Design including Photography and Textiles, Design & Technology, and Construction. Our Faculty strives to ensure each student, at each key stage, is given the opportunity to discover and hone their creative identity and skills with confidence.
Art, Design and Technology shapes the past, present, and future of our world and our vision is to inspire and empower our students to imagine, enquire and communicate, develop rigorous technical and practical skills, and respond creatively.
Ours students learn a wide variety of transferable skills including:
- Critical thinking skills and creative problem solving
- Practical and technical skills across a wide range of materials and processes
- Communication skills both verbal and written to analyse, interpret, express, apply, explain and evaluate
- Independence, organization, resilience, and responsibility
- Respect and understanding of different cultures, artists, craftspeople and designers.
We have 7 teaching staff who are dedicated to enabling our students to Achieve Excellence and in ensuring that every student is thoroughly prepared for the next step in their education.
Design Technology
Design Technology is an inspiring subject which enables students to actively contribute to the creativity, culture, wealth and well-being of themselves and their community. Students learn how to take risks, becoming resourceful, innovative, enterprising and capable citizens. Using creativity and imagination, students design and make products that solve real and relevant problems.
Within our Faculty we have a spacious computer suite equipped with CAD and Sketch Up software and 2 large teaching workshops with equipment and machinery to facilitate a wide variety of practical and manufacturing skills to manipulate wood, acrylic, metal, electronics and create graphic work. We also have a 3D printer and laser cutter. We have 1 large Food Technology room which is fully equipped to offer a diverse range of cooking skills.
Design Technology – Areas of Study
KS3 Year 7:
- Communication through graphics
- Product analysis, design, card modelling (make), evaluation.
- Intro to CAD/CAM, researching designers, sketching and annotating, testing and evaluating.
- Safe use of basic hand and machine tools in the workshop.
- Practical skills in manufacturing to a tolerance in woods.
- Designing within constraints in CAD/CAM
KS3 Year 8:
- Research a designer, ketching skills – biomimicry, CAD/CAM
- Memphis and Art Deco design eras, Workshop skills – shaping woods, press and vac forming plastics.
- Changing movement through mechanisms, cams, cranks and followers.
- Food and Nutrition – Food for life, hygiene, knife skills, preparing and combining ingredients, cooking using the grill and hob to create a variety of food items. How to store food safely.
- Healthy and balanced diet and food provenance.
KS4 Year 9 – BTEC Tech Award In Art And Design Practice Level 1/2:
- Sources of inspiration, communicating ideas.
- 3D modelling – by hand and using CAD
- Investigate art and design practice, researching, selection, presenting and communicating ideas.
- Generate and communicate art and design ideas – using investigative work to generate own ideas, sketching, CAD, model making skills.
KS4 Year 10 – BTEC Tech Award In Art And Design Practice Level 1/2:
- Practical skill development – Cutting and shaping, joining and finishing woods and plastics, wire frames and mod roc.
- Practical skill development, how to explore a variety of both materials and techniques to model existing designs.
- Recording and communicating skill development – Use of log sheets, displaying and keeping work safe, use of a digital portfolio with annotations.
- Starting points, Contexts, Design Briefs, project limitation, specifications.
KS4 Year 11 – BTEC Tech Award In Art And Design Practice Level 1/2:
- Demonstrate understanding of client needs. Interpreting a brief. Considering constraints and intentions.
- Development of a response – Working with the client brief. Organisation skills. Preparing for a project. Applying a creative process through different disciplines.
- Reviewing work based on client need. Presenting own work to a client.
KS5 – Construction – WJEC Level 1/2 Award In Constructing The Built Environment
Our Key Stage 4 Construction course is a hugely popular and successful option choice for students at our Academy.
Opened in 2013, the Fred Pickering construction unit enables us to teach a variety of construction trades in modern purpose-built accommodation. Separate bricklaying, plumbing, tiling, joinery, painting and decorating areas allow students the opportunity to gain a strong foundation in the knowledge and skills required for further study and employment in the construction sector.
Students complete a level 2 (GCSE equivalent) course which combines practical work taught in the Construction Unit alongside Safety and Security in construction and Planning Construction Project units which are delivered through classroom-based learning.
Students will learn:
- Bricklaying practical skills.
- Joinery practical skills.
- Plumbing practical skills.
- Tiling practical skills.
- Electrical practical skills.
- Painting and decorating practical skills.
- Health and safety legal requirements for working in the construction industry.
- To understand the risks to health and safety in different situations and how to minimise risks to health and safety.
- How risks to security are minimised to construction
