Lucy Clarke

DT Teacher 设计与工艺老师

As the year slowly draws to a close, it’s a good opportunity to look back at the projects that the students have spent the last term seeing to fruition.

The new Year 9 students have spent their first few weeks at the school preparing themselves for the years ahead, focusing on developing their drawing skills so that they will be primed for any design tasks in their later years at the school. Being able to express your designs clearly and coherently is one of the key skills for being a good designer! 

Going up through the school, the Year 10s have been working on a number of design and make projects. They have been studying biomimicry, as inspired by one of the course’s key designers, Thomas Heatherwick. Biomimicry is the practice of taking inspiration from nature in design work and has featured heavily in work throughout the 20th & 21st centuries. This kind of design and make project really helps the students immerse themselves in the work of past and present designers.

In addition to this the Year 10s have also been completing their cam toys over the past few weeks - seeing the result of their hard work. They have each designed a toy around a theme of their own choice and have been putting together the mechanics to create their finished toy. 

The Year 11s have worked very hard throughout this year to prepare their theory for the end of year exams and have recently been studying the intricacies of manufacturing papers & boards as this is their chosen extension. Knowing the properties of different materials and their effect on material choices has been essential in preparing them for the A Level course.

The Year 12s have also been pushing through with their extensive theory knowledge and are approaching the point of beginning the design process for their individual projects. After months of exhaustive research, they are currently writing the specification for their products, a key element in the design process which establishes the requirements for the product prior to designing it.

The conclusion of their time at university draws ever closer for the Year 13s as they spend their time readying themselves for the reality of university and the level of detail that they will be required to go into during university projects. The A Level course compliments this well with in depth questions about the global marketplace and manufacturing facilities - preparing them for the years ahead.