Departments: Technology & Electronics

What is Design and Technology?
Technology is all around us, without Technology the world would not move forward and develop. Things would not change as they do. Technology is what enables us (especially those of advancing years) to say 'Things were different in the old days', design is all about the process which enables these changes to happen. Here at Finham we teach our students the design process and the skills they need to turn those designs into products. This also teaches problem solving skills, working as part of a team and ICT skills. We know that the majority of our students very much enjoy the practical nature of our subject and gain a lot of satisfaction from the successful completion of a practical project.

Facilities
We have 7 specialist technology rooms. 2 food rooms (H12 and H13), 3 resistant materials/graphics rooms (K12, K13 and K14) and 1 Electronics room (K15). K14 and K15 are fully equipped with computers for student use. H12 and K13 have some computer availability. We are hoping over the next 3-5 years to purchase more computers for student use, especially for K13 and H12. We have been fortunate enough to acquire the use of a rapid prototype machine, which is situated in K13. This piece of machinery enables students to build quality prototypes from their designs.

Curriculum
The key stage 3 students are taught in group sets of approximately 20. We teach a modular system. The school year is divided into blocks of 11-13 week units of work. Each year group will complete 3 or 4 modules each year. Areas covered within Design and Technology are:

Food
Textiles
Resistant Materials (Wood, metal and plastics)
Graphics
Electronics

We aim to give our students a wide range of experiences, but the material areas offered at KS3 is dependent on staffing available. In many respects the material area is irrelevant as the Design process and skills are taught in every area.

Mrs Morley-Smith
Mrs Finn
Mr Firth
Mr Kyprianou
Ms Odedra
Mr Spence
Food/Textiles Technician: Michelle Checklin
D&T Technician: Peter Rivett