ENGINEERING & DESIGN
Department Vision
Our vision is to equip students to be able to be creative thinkers, problem solvers and engineers. We aim to engage students with at least one of the main three elements of DT and engineering which they find success in – design, make and evaluate. Once bought in, we use this to develop the other areas. The project-based model allows students to experience a variety of different engineering specialisms: architecture, civil engineering, electronics, and mechanical engineering.
We emphasise the cross-curricular links with maths and the need for accuracy as engineers, designers. We promote better literacy in our research, analysing and evaluating to embed elevated technical vocabulary. We also strive to increase students’ creativity to help with their problem-solving abilities which will equip them for any career path in the future.
Year 7
Key Stage 3:
During Years 7 – 9, students will look at a range of engineering specialisms. These are: Architectural engineering, Civil engineering, electronics and mechanical engineering. Students will have at least 1 cycle of each type over KS3.
Students will receive 1 double lesson of engineering per week for 2 cycles per year. These cycles will alternate between Engineering and Food & Nutrition. For example, your child may have Engineering in Cycle A and C, then Food in Cycle B and D.
Year 7 Engineering
| First Cycle | Dream bedroom Project.In this architectural project, students will learn about how to operate in a workshop safety. We will look at famous architecture. Students get to design their own cream bedroom. Drawing it in 3rd Angle orthographic and making it to scale using foamboard. |
| Second Cycle | Mini Skateboard project.Students get to make their own mini skateboard in this mechanical engineering project. They learn about how different forces impact the skateboard’s function. Students laminate plywood in their own moulds and get to shape the board. Students learn about different materials used in the practical. |
Year 8
Year 8
| First Cycle | Bridge Project.In this civil engineering project, students work in teams to design and create a scale model of a bridge. We learn about different bridge styles, forces which act on bridges, how to strengthen and reinforce materials. Students analyse existing bridges to develop their design. More workshop machines are introduced within the practical. |
| Second Cycle | Speaker project.In this electrical project, students learn about different circuit components and their diagram symbols. Students learn to solder together a circuit to make a functioning speaker. Wood joints are introduced. Different finishes are used. |
Year 9
Year 9
| First Cycle | Lamp Project.In this second electrical project students will solder more complex circuits to create a functioning lamp. Students will learn about different techniques of wooden joints to create housing for the lamp, following orthographic drawings. We will cover theory about different types of plastics and adhesives too. |
| Second Cycle | CAD/CAM project.In this mechanical engineering project, students will learn about 2 different CAD software (2D and 3D), and how these link to different CAM machines. Students learn about how laser cutting works and experience 3D printing. Theory focuses on scales of production as well as coding micro-controllers (BBC Micro:bits). |
Year 10 & 11
Key Stage 4:
Having gained competence from theory and practical in KS3, our engineers are challenged further at Key Stage 4. Students study a vocational award with the WJEC exam board (Level 2). Students will work to complete the 3 units of work over Year 10 and 11. Details of the topics studied can be viewed in the Long-Term Plans section below.
Year 10
| TERM 1 | Material theory – classifications, groupings, properties and applications (Metals, plastics, timber, composite and smart materials) |
| TERM 2 | Workshop machines and tools theory – how they work, what they are used for and health and safety considerations. |
| TERM 3 | Material processes – how to manufacture different types of products for mass production and how to permanently and temporarily join different materials. |
| TERM 4 | The design process theory – how a designer engineer creates a commercially viable product from idea inception to production. |
| TERM 5 | CAD skills – how to use a 3D CAD package to communicate ideas and generate 3rd angle orthographic drawings. |
| TERM 6 | Preparation for Unit 1 – students will have a mock of the Unit 1 coursework. |
Year 10
Year 11
| TERM 1 | Complete Unit 1 coursework. |
| TERM 2 | CAD skills – furthering students experience of using CAD to communicate ideas and looking at the beginning of the design process. |
| TERM 3 | Complete Unit 2 coursework |
| TERM 4 | Exam preparation focusing on skills needed for Section 1 and 2. |
| TERM 5 | Exam preparation focusing on skills needed for Section 3. |
| TERM 6 | Unit 3 exam. |
Post 16 at SL6
KS5 – Year 12 and 13
We are proud to be one of the pioneering subjects at Year 12/13 at SL6. We offer BTEC Level 3 in Engineering. Students leave SL6 with the equivalent of 3 A Levels in Engineering. Students experience a range of aspects of engineering focusing on how to apply maths and physics knowledge to real life problems. One of the units is a work experience module which help to prepare students for their next steps. We encourage students to seek placements independently.
Unit’s covered are:
| Unit 1: Engineering Principles | External assessment |
| Unit 2: Delivery of engineering processes safely as a team | Internal assessment |
| Unit 3: Engineering product design and manufacture | External assessment |
| Unit 4: Applied commercial and quality principles in engineering | Internal assessment |
| Unit 5: Specialist Engineering projects | Internal assessment |
| Unit 6: Microcontroller systems for engineers | External assessment |
| Unit 7: Calculus to solve engineering problems | Internal assessment |
| Unit 9: Work Experience in the Engineering Sector | Internal assessment |
| Unit 10: Computer Aided Design in Engineering | Internal assessment |
| Unit 19: Electronic Devices and Circuits | Internal assessment |
| Unit 22: Electronic Printed Circuit Board Design and Manufacture | Internal assessment |
| Unit 25: Mechanical Behaviour of Metallic Materials | Internal assessment |
| Unit 26: Mechanical Behaviour of Non-metallic Materials | Internal assessment |
| Unit 44: Fabrication Manufacturing Processes | Internal assessment |
| Unit 45: Additive Manufacturing Processes | Internal assessment |
Advice For Parents & Carers
Engineering and design are all around us. There are lots of great examples of engineering and design in London. The Design Museum and the Science Museum are a great day out to see a wealth of existing products. Once a year, there is an exhibition which showcases University degree projects. New Designers takes place at the start of July each year from a wide variety of design disciplines.
For Year 8, there are cycle tours in London that takes in civil engineering sights such as: Abbey Mills Pumping Station, Limehouse Basin, Wapping Hydraulic Power Station, Wapping station, St Katherine’s Dock and Tower Bridge.
At KS4, we use the WJEC Engineering Level 1/2 textbook which is available from Amazon. There is no requirement for families to buy their child this textbook.
The departmental Knowledge Organisers that are published each learning cycle/term are an invaluable tool in preparing students for their end of cycle assessments.
In addition, the following websites are invaluable to students. We encourage you to support your child to use them for independent studies:
