Product Design

A Level Design & Technology: Product Design

About A Level Design & Technology: Product Design

Entry requirements: A Minimum Grade 6 and above in Design & Technology and a minimum of Grade 5 in Maths at GCSE.

Course Content:

The specification delivered at Loreto Grammar is the AQA A Level specification for Design & Technology: Product Design.

This course will require you to develop skills and understanding in both making and designing.

Making products involves working with a range of materials. Only by experiencing working with materials first- hand can you start to understand their properties and the ways in which those materials can be used for a variety of purposes. You will need to know different methods of working with materials in order to understand the right method of production for your product. 15% of your mark in the course is Maths based. It is advised that you study core Maths, alongside this course.

When designing, you will need to understand what the user or client requires, and then go on to provide them with a functional prototype, which can be tested so you and your user or client can judge how successful it is.

The course is divided into two main parts:

Technical principles
Designing and making principles

The A-level is made up of three components.

Component 1

Component 2

Component 3

A-level

(7552)

Paper 1-Technical principles-

2 hours and 30 minutes

Paper 2 -Designing and making principles-

1 hour and 30 minutes

NEA (Non- examined assessment) project.

Combined mark from the two exam papers, worth 50%

The NEA is worth 50% of your overall grade

Assessment:

Throughout the course the work is regularly assessed internally against the Assessment Objectives (AO’s) which are set by AQA. The department provides the students with a time plan for the assessment deadlines to enable them to pace and plan their workload.

These regular internal assessments are seen by the department as an ‘additive process’ and students are offered advice and guidance on how to improve and develop their work in readiness for the next internal assessment.

There are three Assessment objectives that the NEA work is marked against:

Assessment objective 1	Assessment objective 2	Assessment objective 3
Identify, investigate and outline design possibilities to address needs and wants	Design and make prototypes that are fit for purpose	Analyse and evaluate design decisions and outcomes, including for prototypes made by themselves and others. Wider issues in design and technology.

Higher Education and Careers:

Students who want to pursue Design & Technology related courses to a higher level can complete a one-year foundation course. This gives the individual the opportunity to experiment with a broader range of disciplines and experiences before deciding on a specific course at degree. However, attending a foundation course is not a prerequisite for being offered a place on a degree course.

A career linked to Design or Technology can be rich and varied. The following list acts as a snapshot. The skills that related degree provides, offer invaluable attributes that can be transferred into an infinite amount of job opportunities.

Advertising
Media related
Architecture
Interior Designer
Interior Architect
Illustrator
Printer
Sculptor
Set Designer
Teaching
Photographer
Fashion
Costume Designer
Jeweller
Website Designer
Games designer
Engineer
Mechanics
Industrial Designer
Carpenter
Aerospace Engineer
Animator
CAD designer
Construction