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Design and technology

Design and Technology is an inspiring, rigorous, and practical subject encouraging students to learn to think and intervene creatively to solve problems both as individuals and as members of a team. At Ashington Academy, we encourage students to use their creativity and imagination, to design and make products that solve real and relevant problems within a variety of contexts, considering their own and others’ needs, wants and values. Students acquire a broad range of subject knowledge and draw on disciplines such as mathematics, science, engineering, computing and art when designing and making. 

Through a variety of creative and practical activities, we teach the knowledge, understanding and skills needed to engage in an iterative process of designing and making. Students design and create products, carefully considering their function and purpose, that are relevant to a range of sectors (such as the home, school, leisure, society, enterprise, industry and the wider environment). 

When designing and making, the students are taught to: 

  • Develop the creative, technical and practical expertise needed to perform everyday tasks confidently and to participate successfully in an increasingly technological world.  

  • Build and apply a repertoire of knowledge, understanding and skills to design and make high-quality prototypes and products for a wide range of users.  

  • Critique, evaluate and test their ideas and products and the work of others.   

Students learn how to take risks, becoming resourceful, innovative, enterprising and capable citizens. Through the evaluation of past and present design and technology, they develop a critical understanding of its impact on daily life and the wider world. High-quality design and technology education makes an essential contribution to the creativity, culture, wealth and well-being of the nation. 

Design & Technology is about designing and making things that people want and that work well. Creating these things is hugely exciting: It is an inventive, fun activity.
Year 9 student
When you finish a project, you feel proud and confident in the new knowledge and skills you have acquired and can then apply them to other design and make activities
Year 8 student