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About the case study

Thomas Alleyne’s High School operates in a three-tier education system. The design and technology department has developed its own strategies to address the issue of transfer to the school at year 9 of students who have had differing experiences in the first two years of key stage 3.

The school

Thomas Alleyne’s High School in Uttoxeter is a 13-18 school in a rural part of Staffordshire. It is a specialist technology college with over 1,250 students and is the only high school in the town and surrounding area. Seven per cent of students have special educational needs, 2.3 per cent without statements.

Rationale for curriculum planning

When planning its design and technology offer, the school aims to ensure that

• its commitments as a specialist technology college are met
• there are secure progression routes to level 3 design and technology courses
• issues arising from year 9 transfer and inconsistency of provision in feeder schools are addressed.

The school is fed by three middle schools. Staff at Thomas Alleyne had found that in year 9 some students were repeating work already covered in years 7 and 8, whereas others had not acquired the basic skills and knowledge to cope with year 9 design and technology.

A review of the year 9 design and technology offer examined approaches that would:

• enable all students to access the work
• prepare students effectively for key stage 4
• lay good foundations for a design-led approach to the subject.

Design and technology in year 9

Following the review, students now opt for a focus area within design and technology at the end of year 8. This requires the whole key stage 3 programme of study for design and technology to be delivered in the feeder schools, so the full cooperation of these schools, supported by ongoing liaison, is crucial.

To help students choose their year 9 focus areas, each of the middle schools watch a roadshow presentation, with video clips of existing year 11 students. An opportunity is provided for students and parents to make an evening visit to Thomas Alleyne’s design and technology department.

Design skills are critical to the year 9 course and are embedded in all its aspects. The course comprises a range of design units common to all focus areas, and a range of practical/theory units related to the specific focus area. They include a fun practical exercise as an induction, followed by units on presentation skills, sketching, communication skills through using role play, two design and make tasks, design history, product analysis, use of colour and a variety of focus-specific theory and practical exercises.

Students are building on the design work already undertaken in years 7 and 8 and at the same time starting to focus on subject-specific content in preparation for GCSE. The approach enables students to concentrate on their particular interest and confirm this as their focus area at key stage 4.

The design and technology entitlement area

The revised year 9 provision has facilitated improvements at key stage 4. The school now provides two accelerated classes in design and technology, taking AS level at the end of year 11. The rest of the year group take the GCSE double award in manufacturing alongside the CCEA (Northern Ireland) GCSE in design and technology. The specifications were carefully chosen to maximise curriculum coverage.

The time allocation of three 50-minute periods each week would previously have given students the opportunity to take only a single GCSE. Two lower-ability groups study design and technology for six 50-minute periods each week.

Evaluation

The department believes this initiative has improved cohesion, with all staff committed to the vision of providing a better design and technology offer to their students. The courses are challenging and rigorous, and although tight deadlines are essential, the approach has helped focus targeting and monitoring.

It is still too early to say whether this imaginative initiative will be a complete success as it was only implemented in September 2002. However, design and technology teachers are happy with the year 9 course, believing it offers an effective foundation for key stage 4. In retrospect, they believe the changes should have been phased in, with the manufacturing and AS courses not being started in key stage 4 until the first cohort had benefited from the new year 9 course.

However, students are enjoying the course; they remain on task, are engaged, knowledgeable and well motivated, and staff are confident that this is providing a better design and technology offer to their students.

Also see

> Entitlement areas

> Pace and progression

> Using GCSEs in vocational subjects within the key stage 4 curriculum

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