General View
This specification allows students to build on the experience of GCSE and allows them to further their studies through Product Design with students having the option of taking a Graphics or Resistant Materials route.

Students will have the opportunity to study, propose and realise solutions to designing and making opportunities closely linked to the real world of product/system manufacture.

This is a demanding course. Students should have a broad academic background and need to have studied Graphic Products or Resistant Materials and achieved success at GCSE level. Other subjects which would go well with Design and Technology are Physics, Mathematics or Art.

How is the course organised?
This course is offered in two distinct halves:

Year 12 AS level:  Units F521 and F522
Year 13 A2 level:  Units F523 and F524

AS level (Year 12):

Unit F521 Advanced Innovation Challenge
40% AS / 20% A-level

This unit will take place over three sessions and combines the examination with a research and make project. Students will be given a theme which they will research and put together a collection of resources for.

Session One of the challenge is a three hour session under examination conditions. Students choose a challenge to answer from the theme, develop models and a presentation and listen to feedback on their work.

Session Two is undertaken over three hours on the same day. It requires students to develop the model further bringing it as close to the standard of a working prototype as possible.

Session Three is an examination paper that requires students to reflect on the processes they have used in the previous sessions and throughout the AS unit of study.

The benefit of this unit is that students are free to explore original ideas and demonstrate their creative and innovation skills.  They will also be under pressure for a set time which reflects the way designers work in the real world.

Unit F522 Product Study
60% AS / 30% A-level

For this unit students will select a product of their choice which they feel could be improved in some way. They will put their ideas to the test by remaking and testing if their solutions for improvement would work. Conclusions will be presented in the form of a prototype model and illustrated folder.

A-Level (Year 13)

Unit F523 Design Make and Evaluate
30% A-level

Students will be given the opportunity to design a product of their own choosing. This can be in one material or a combination. The finished piece will be a prototype of marketable standard. To support it will be a folder showing how the product was designed and made and a presentation that could be used to market the product or design to potential clients.

Unit F5224 Product Design 2
20% A-level

Paper One:
Students will answer one question from either Graphic Products or Resistant Materials; the questions will relate to the materials used in these areas such as wood, card, metal, plastics and textiles.

Paper Two:
Students will respond to a given design situation in either Graphic Products or Resistant Materials. This paper aims to identify how well students can use their experience and knowledge in design and making.