Overview
An A-level in Design and Technology will really help equip you for the modern world as you will learn how to identify and define people’s needs, and then create solutions through product design.
Students will learn how to plan, design and create a product. The course encourages candidates to be innovative and creative and to develop their ability to design high-quality products.
Key Facts
- 5 September 2022
- 3 January 2023
- Academic: Completed 10 years of schooling (GCSE or equivalent)
- English: IELTS 5.5 or equivalent
- 2 Academic Years (6 terms)
- We also offer entry from Year 12 (3 terms)
- Average 7 hours per week for each A-level subject (plus homework and private study)
Learning outcomes
- Develop an awareness of the significance of design and technology to society
- Learn more about production processes and industrial practices
- Develop critical evaluation skills which they can employ in a variety of technical, aesthetic, economic, environmental, social and cultural contexts.
- As a result, candidates will also become discerning consumers of design and technology, able to make informed choices.
Course content and structure
Core Content
- Situation: preparing a design brief
- Research
- Specification: analysis leading to succinct specification
- Concepts
- Modelling
- Development
- Implementation
- Testing and evaluation
- Design and Technology in Society: explore different approaches to design; differentiate between mass productions and small-batch
- Ergonomics
- Energy: main sources of energy; methods of conversion
- Control: automatic and semi-automatic
- Materials
- Materials Processing
- Product analysis
- Health and Safety
Students can choose one of the following optional focus areas:
Product Design
- Design stimulus and methodology
- Production
- Modelling
- Metal properties
- Processing
- Tool technology
- Wood properties
- Plastic Properties
Practical Technology
- Technological design and production
- Materials
- Processing
- Mechanisms
- Structures
- Structural Failure
- Testing
- Power Sources
- Electronics and Control
- Circuits
Graphic Products
- Design and influences methodology
- Recording information
- Modelling and testing
- Drawing systems
- Presentation
- Geometry
- Mechanisms
- Materials
Typical A-level subject combinations with Design and Technology
- Art and Design, Maths, Design Technology
- Mathematics, Physics, Design and Technology
Degree progression
Having a degree in Design Technology will depending on the area of focus, lead to a range of career areas including:
- Architecture
- Graphic Design
- Engineering
- Software Engineering
- Computer Science
- Fashion Design
- Textiles
Sample student progression
- Eun Seo Kim Product Design Middlesex University
- Mathilde Whitlock Product Design UAL (Central St Martins)
- Celia Rose Caplitz Textile Design UAL
